


A Missing Link V.1

by eilyahjenee



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Original Character-centric, POV First Person, POV Original Character, POV Original Female Character, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-01-06 02:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eilyahjenee/pseuds/eilyahjenee
Summary: Mara Sasaki is entering her final year at Domino High School, and finds herself making friends with some interesting people. While being torn between new friends and old, she discovers more about herself than she could have ever imagined, all because of a dragon she has a 10,000-year-old connection to. As it turns out, someone else does, too.Yu-Gi-Oh DM anime timeline. Eventual KaibaxOC. Companion story 'A Missing Link V.2' by zelos888.





	1. Universal Beginning

The early morning sunlight that temporarily blinded me as I slipped out the front door did nothing to warm the skin my school uniform didn't cover. I stumbled down the one step down from the door in my hurry, pulling the handle of my book bag up to my elbow so my hands were free. I wasn't running late, necessarily, but I certainly wasn't early.

Slinging my long white hair into a sloppy ponytail, I hurried down the road, on the familiar route to the bus stop.

It was the first day of my last school year, but I didn't feel any kind of excitement for that. I had no concrete plans more than continuing to pursue what I already was, so this was just a stepping stone. Just another school year.

I'd gone to the same high school all three years, but I never managed to get out of the door on time. Like every other day, I had to run to the bus stop if I wanted to catch the one that got me to school on time. It was crowded, like it always was, but I managed to snag one of the few remaining seats.

If anyone asked, I went for a jog every morning. 

It was a bright spring day; typical of early April. The air still held a chill. making me huddle in my pink school uniform jacket in an attempt to retain some warmth. By the time the bus pulled up to the school, I was bouncing my legs, trying to get the blood flowing. It would warm up by lunch, at least.

Stepping on to the campus, I headed inside, greeting a few familiar faces when I paused in the entryway to change out of my outdoor shoes. A couple people I had been in music clubs with stopped to converse with me, and I happily took the time for it. Over the short break from the last school year, I hadn't visited with many of my fellow students. Most of my time, I'd spent with my singing coach, or helping my mother with her business. Catching up with everyone was a welcome formality.

As I stood up straight, a more familiar voice caught my attention, calling out to me. I turned to see a familiar brunet male approaching me, green eyes alight with energy. Ready to tackle the day, as usual. One of my best friends.

"Hey, Makoto," I greeted, my lips pulling up in a smile. "Long time no see."

Makoto nodded, returning my smile. "No joke. Everyone I've talked to said they barely heard anything from you over the break. Nothing catastrophic, I hope?"

"Oh, yes, I just kept busy. It was only a couple weeks, I didn't think anyone would notice!" I twittered. "How about you? Enjoy the break?"

"Ah, yeah, I kept busy, just like you. Can't say anything exciting happened."

We both chuckled at that.

"You'd think, living in such a big city, more fun things would happen." I made my disappointment obvious with my tone.

"Well, they probably do. We're out of the loop though; we don't live where it all happens," Makoto pointed out with a shrug. With me living in the outskirts of a residential area, and him living outside of the city entirely, over an hour away by bus, he had a point. "But you know, I don't think it'll stay this way. It's our last year of school; something's bound to happen."

I raised an eyebrow, then rolled my eyes good-naturedly. "Makoto, that sounded like a movie line. You know, 'something's comin', I don't know what it is, but it is gonna be great'?"

"Oh, you know what? All I did was watch West Side Story over the break. I wasn't busy at all. You caught me." His words had the intended effect, making me laugh and gently nudge his shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, your famous sarcasm strikes again."

Before Makoto could respond, from the other side of the lockers, another familiar voice spoke up. "Makotooooo! Heeeelp!"

That would be Makoto's best friend, Critias. He and Makoto had been inseparable for at least as long as I had known them--which was a few years--if they weren't that way before. This situation happened after every break they had. Though Critias had a remarkable memory, he could never seem to remember his locker combinations, which fell to Makoto to remember for him.

"Well, that's my cue. See you in class?"

"Mmhmm. Go save your bestie." I watched Makoto round the lockers before turning away, heading up to the classroom.

I knew quite a few people in the school. Makoto, though, I considered a good friend. But, who didn't? Makoto could easily be considered one of the most popular students in our year, and even managed to be rather well known in the other years as well. He treated everyone kindly, and never looked down on anyone. Funny enough, he kept busy, usually going home instead of going out after school. He hung out with his best friend often, but even then, that usually entitled Critias going to his house instead of the other way around. It wasn't a big secret why, either. His family was incredibly tight-knit, and though his parents were present and took great care of him and his siblings, Makoto still felt a lot of responsibility toward his younger brother. Makoto talked about him so fondly, you'd think he was his own kid, and they were only four years apart.

Being an only child, it admittedly baffled me. Makoto's younger brother followed Makoto's example more than their parents', so it made sense, but I couldn't understand how it tied up Makoto's schedule so effectively. He was outgoing, and loved to be around people. It wasn't that he never went out, but it was rare. Sometimes he said he needed to help his parents out. They owned a good chunk of land, where they kept a little ranch. Still, Makoto had two younger siblings still living there, and from what I knew, they enjoyed working with the animals more than he did.

Oh well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

When I'd first met him, I had ended up with a terrible crush on him. He'd dated another girl for a while, but they'd only been together for a few months. In their second year of high school, he'd dated another girl, but Maemi was another student that most people knew, if not from knowing her older brother, Seiichi, who'd attended the school before us and was still well-loved by a lot of the now third-years. She was kind, and energetic, perhaps a bit loud, but not as much as her brother was known for. As far as dating Makoto went, though, it didn't take long for her to get a little nitpicky. Then she got a lot nitpicky. After Makoto broke up with her, Maemi took it hard. I wasn't great friends with her, but I spoke to her occasionally, and it was obvious that even now, she wasn't over Makoto.

Since then, Makoto had been single, and I had never made a move. Now, I wouldn't. I liked being friends with him, and didn't feel the need to be anything different. 

When I entered the classroom, there weren't many people there yet, but I noticed I didn't recognize a couple of them. Even with my outgoing nature, it seemed there were still some students I'd yet to run into.

Setting my bag at an open desk near the middle of the class, I headed over to greet them. One was another girl, with brown hair cut at her shoulders, and brilliant blue eyes. She stood by the desk where two boys sat, one having turned their chair around to make it possible to talk to the one behind him. That one was blond, hair a little unkempt, but clean. He looked to be the tallest of the bunch. The boy sitting at the desk behind the blond was hands-down the shortest. His feet hardly touched the floor from his chair, but his hair might have made up for some height. It was spiked and several different colours. If it weren't for his kind expression, he would have looked a little intimidating.

When I approached the desk, I gave a little bow of my head as greeting. "Good morning! I hope I'm not bothering, but I thought I knew pretty much everyone in our year. I'm Mara Sasaki."

The shorter boy was the first to respond, doing so cheerfully. "It's nice to meet you, Mara! I'm Yuugi Mutou. That's Anzu Mazaki, and Jonouchi Katsuya." He gestured to the girl, then the boy across from him as he said their respective names. Anzu had a kind smile on her lips, and Jonouchi seemed a tad disinterested, but more out of distraction than rudeness.

"It's nice to meet you all. Did I... interrupt something...?" I followed Jonouchi's gaze to the desk, and my eyes lit up. "Oh, Duel Monsters!" The placement of some of the cards made me realize I'd just interrupted a Duel, and Jonouchi was staring at the field, trying to decide his next move.

Yuugi beamed. "Do you play?"

"Oh, a little. I picked it up last year, but I don't have great cards. Just some basics. I don't have anyone to play with."

"You can join us sometimes, if you want!" Yuugi offered without pause.

I smiled. How had I managed to avoid meeting someone so friendly? "I'd really like that, thank you!"

I let Yuugi and Jonouchi finish their Duel, chatting with Anzu about certain cards that were played. Another male had joined us—a tall brunet named Honda Hirito—and though he came off as a little scary at first, he seemed to get along with everyone fine.

When the teacher walked in and started the class, I hurried back to my desk and sat, turning my attention to classwork. As always, it didn't really matter that it was the first day of the school year—the teacher assigned classwork right off the bat. There wasn't extra time to visit or catch up with anyone.

When lunch time rolled around, I found myself talking to Anzu again, and getting to know the others a little better as well. They were all kind, and seemed not to mind my attempting to befriend them. Though they came off as a tight-knit group of friends, they welcomed my company willingly. It made them all easy to like.

At the end of the school day, after I had said goodbye to a few friends, I noticed Yuugi and Jonouchi had started another Duel. Snagging my bag, I wove my way through the desks to Anzu's side. A couple other people had wandered over to watch, as well. Since I wasn't much of an expert at Duel Monsters, seeing that Jonouchi was an amateur too made it easier for me to follow the game.

Yuugi won easily, though he reacted modestly. "My grandpa's a serious gaming fanatic, and he owns a game shop. I got all my strong cards because of that," the teen assured.

Jonouchi stood up decisively with his hands on the desk, his eyes lit up with excitement. "What are we still doing here then? Let's go to your game shop!" The fact that Jonouchi didn't ask if that was alright surprised me, but Yuugi agreed without a pause.

"Okay! I'll ask Grandpa to show you his super-rare card!"

Raising my shoulders, I spoke up. "Hey, Yuugi, is it okay if I tag along too?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun," he responded cheerfully as he stood from the desk.

Those of us that were going—me, Yuugi, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda—all filed out of the room, and I found that even out of school, these people were good company. I didn't hang out with people outside of school too often, but I liked this. It was fun, and though I worried about it a couple times, they didn't mind me being there, despite my obviously being the one out of the loop.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Yuugi announced as they entered the game shop, and immediately, my eyes were drawn to the many objects in the shop. The place may have been tiny, but there were so many boxes, and the amount of cards in the glass cases astounded me. I knew that people got hardcore about Duel Monsters—being a Duelist could be a profession if you were good enough—but it still amazed me. The only time I'd ever been in a game shop, it had been one devoted to so many different games. Each game had tiny sections for them. This game shop seemed to have all of the glass cases filled with solely Duel Monsters cards.

By the time I'd turned my attention to the conversation, Yuugi's grandfather was setting a little brown box on the counter with exceptional care, telling us it was his most valuable possession. Interest piqued, I joined everyone else in crowding around the counter.

The older man held up the card. "This is it, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It's a super-ultra-rare card."

I squinted as I stared at the card, my heart speeding up. Something about this card struck me as familiar. I knew I'd never seen it before in my life, but it stemmed deeper than that. It spurred a deep memory within in me, and I couldn't bring it to mind. But I understood this card, and it understood me. In what way was still a mystery... Perhaps Yuugi's grandfather would let me hold it...

Before I had the chance to ask, Honda snatched it carelessly, looking it over. "Huh? What's so special...?"

Yuugi's grandpa snatched it back, holding it close to himself protectively. "I own one out of four copies in the entire world. I can't even put a price on it."

"It's beautiful..." I murmured, and though Yuugi's grandpa looked at me, likely to respond, my words weren't heard on the other side of the group, and Jonouchi changed the subject, asking to buy some other cards.

They continued to speak, but all I could do was stare at that card. What was so familiar about it? Had I seen it on TV? No, it wasn't that shallow. Something about this card resonated with me, but I couldn't put my finger on it...

The door to the game shop opened abruptly, startling me out of my trance. I turned as Yuugi's grandpa welcomed the newcomer, immediately noticing this person had the Domino school uniform. He seemed a little familiar, but it didn't click until Yuugi spoke.

"Kaiba?"

My eyebrows lifted. Seto Kaiba? As in Kaiba Corporation Seto Kaiba? What could have compelled him of all people to show up at a tiny game shop like this?

Speaking my thoughts, Honda said, "What could the successor of Kaiba Corporation want to be here for?"

As Kaiba approached them, he responded simply, "I heard that Yuugi's grandfather was a card fanatic."

Jonouchi perked up. "Oh, you play Duel Monsters, Kaiba? That's perfect, we could all play together sometime!"

"You guys aren't qualified to compete again me."

"What?"

I kept my mouth shut, finding it hard to keep my gaze on the confrontation. Kaiba struck me as intimidating, and thought of making eye contact with him seemed unpleasant. If I could avoid that happening, I would.

Kaiba continued, his tone abnormally disinterested and smug at the same time. "You see, I won the Duel Monsters National Championships. In other words, we're at completely different levels."

What a jerk.

Before the conversation went any further, Kaiba must have spotted the Blue-Eyes that sat neatly in its box on the counter. He strode straight through the group to the counter, making everyone step to the side. "Why would this card be in a place like this?"

I wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or not, but I inched over to Anzu, giving her an incredulous look. Anzu responded with an equally confused expression, and we focused back on the scene in front of us.

Yuugi's grandpa shut the box, pointedly saying, "Alrighty, we're through here. This isn't for sale."

Kaiba's expression grew angry, or maybe just intense, and he lifted his large, silver briefcase on to the counter, spinning it around to show the contents to Yuugi's grandfather as he opened it. "In exchange for that one Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I'll trade you all of these." From the expression on the other man's face, it must have been quite an offer.

I peeked around Anzu, and my eyes widened. That was all that was in the briefcase! It was neatly filled to the brim with cards, and most of them looked rare.

Even more shocking, Yuugi's grandfather refused in a moment. "Nope."

Not missing a beat, Kaiba shot back, "If you won't trade it, I'll buy it! Name your price; I can pay anything you ask me to!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. Why was it so important for Kaiba to have this card? Sure, this card was obviously rare, but was that all Kaiba cared about?

"Kaiba, was it?" Yuugi's grandpa asked. "There's a reason I won't sell this card to you. It's not because it's a strong card. This card is something my close friend gave to me. Nothing you pay me could possibly measure up to that."

Kaiba looked impossibly angrier, and I expected him to start yelling. Instead, after glaring at Yuugi's grandpa for a moment, he closed his briefcase roughly, then turned around to head for the door. "I'll see myself out."

Then he was gone, leaving a heavy silence in his wake. That hadn't gone well, had it?

Hating the quiet, I gave a little laugh. "Well, no explosion. Maybe he wasn't as angry as he looked."

The joke had the intended effect, and everyone was able to lighten up. I managed to put the Kaiba incident behind me, but the image of that card still hung in my head, making it hard for me focus on what was in front of me.

I hung around with everyone for a while. It was fun, and I even picked up a pack of cards for myself. Since I didn't have any other friends that were interested in playing Duel Monsters, this was new to me. I liked it, and they all didn't seem to mind having me around either. When Yuugi officially introduced me to his grandfather, he referred to me as a new friend. It made me happy.

Yet, the image of that Blue-Eyes White Dragon card plagued my thoughts. It distracted me, and within an hour, I decided to go home because of it. Maybe I could find something that would spark my memory, make it click why it was so familiar.

I said my goodbyes, then headed out alone. My home was too far to walk all the way, so I caught a bus headed back the way I came. I'd have to transfer to another one, afterward, too.

While the buses were never not-crowded until it got dark, it wasn't the busiest hours, and I picked an open seat near the middle of the bus to sit in. With my bag in my lap, I stared out the window. I didn't see any of the buildings or cars, though, my thoughts on all that had happened. It'd be a bit of an odd afternoon. Why was Seto Kaiba so interested in that card? Out of all the cards in the game? He'd been genuinely pissed to hear that he couldn't get the card from Yuugi's grandfather so easily. Was there something special about it? Only four existed in the world, so perhaps it did come down to rarity for him. He said he was the Duel Monsters National Champion. A rare, powerful card like that would only help him climb the ranks.

Heaving a sigh, I shook my head at myself. I didn't know Seto Kaiba, so I was only assuming things. For now, I would have to wait and see. Maybe I'd learn something.

The full trip back home took at least an hour and a half. It made me glad to have left when I did. The sky had grown dark on the last bus, and now, walking down my street, it reminded me why I left school as soon as I could most days. The little suburb had few street lamps, and the moon was only a sliver in the sky. I ended up jogging the rest of the way to my house, unnerved the silence.

I tugged open the wooden front door and stepped inside, simultaneously closing it behind me as I took off my shoes. The dark wood siding was a welcome familiar sight, as were the ugly, battered tatami mats on the floor.

"Mom? I'm home!" I called through the kitchen, setting my bag on the counter. It looked like dinner was already started; a pot boiled quietly on the stove top. As usual, Mom must have gotten distracted doing something else at the same time.

Stretching my arms above my head, I headed over to the stove to check on it just as my mother entered, pushing her short, curly brown hair back with a headband.

"Ah, Mara, you came home rather late today!"

"Hi to you too," I teased. "Forget about dinner again?"

"No no, I was just putting my hair back. I left for only a moment!"

Riiiiight.

"It smells really good. Oh, and sorry I didn't tell you where I was. I went to a little game shop that one of my classmate's grandfather owns. I spent more time on a bus than I did there, though," I sighed. Taking the bus may have been necessary, but it took so long sometimes.

"Oh, that's okay, sweetheart. Dinner's almost ready, though, so how about you go change while I dish this up?"

"Mmhmm, thanks Mom." I turned on my heel and grabbed my bag from the counter, heading down the stairs to my room.

It was a little odd having a basement room. It was finished, so there was carpet, and a bathroom, and closet. The only part I specifically didn't like, though, was that it didn't have a door. Only the staircase and a set of light blue curtains at the bottom separated my room from the rest of the house. I didn't mind, but it could be bothersome. If I wanted to watch a dramatic movie on full blast, it'd bother the rest of the house. Same with listening to music, or even if I had a friend over. My parents didn't invade my privacy, but they couldn't do much about it if they were in the kitchen, where the staircase led from.

I set my bag on the bed and grabbed some clothes to change into. Once done, I was looking in the mirror, pulling the hair tie from my hair in preparation to braid it when it hit me. I didn't know if it had a direct correlation, but I had a little white dragon plushie from when I was little, before my father had died. Maybe it was the same as the card, or similar, if nothing else.

I made quick work to finish braiding my hair, then hurried to the closet, taking down the shoe box from the top. My plushie already sat neatly on the bed, but I kept my other childhood things in this box.

I sat on the mattress and picked up the plushie, looking it over. It did have blue eyes, and the design was fairly similar. A little crude, but it had been made by my biological father, who by no means was an expert plushie maker. The memories I had were fuzzy, but I knew my father had made me this plushie because of a dragon I told him about a lot. In fact, I used to draw it for him all the time. Once I'd been adopted by my parents now, I had started drawing the dragon for them.

Reaching into the shoe box, I pulled out a little beat up sketchpad, one I had owned as long as I could remember. I only had to flip through a couple pages before the first dragon drawing. A white dragon with blue eyes. Its claws, though misshapen, looked similar, and it had the same head shape as that card. The neck was long, like the card, and the tail was the same too. I couldn't bring myself to think it was the same thing, though. These crude dragon drawings were all done because of a dragon I'd seen in my dreams when I was little. As I grew older, it showed itself less and less often, until now, it felt like a blast from the past to have a dream with that dragon in it.

Well, these were the kinds of things my mother loved to delve into. I could ask her for advice.

Though I knew my mother didn't like me having my phone at the table, I still grabbed it from my bag. Maybe I could look up a picture of this card and show it to her.

With a nervous sigh, I headed up the stairs, typing the name of the card into my phone. It came up quickly, being something of a legendary card among fans. I clicked one of the images, then slipped the phone into my pocket, striding through the kitchen and to the adjacent area, where my father already sat at the table and my mother was just finishing laying everything out.

"There you are," my father said. "How'd your day go?"

I shrugged ambiguously, sitting down at the table as my mother did. "It was fine. A little weird, though. I went to a game shop with some friends. The game shop was actually owned by one's grandfather. He had this really rare Duel Monsters card called the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

I paused for just a moment to gauge my parents reaction, but there didn't seem to be one, so I continued, pulling out my phone. "Uhm, I actually looked it up here..."

"Mara, you know I don't like there to be phones out at the table," Mom sighed, and I nodded quickly.

"No, I know, and I'm sorry, but I really wanted to show you this..." I brought up the picture and handed the phone to her. "Does it... look familiar to you, at all?"

"Of course! It looks like the dragons you use to draw when you were little." Mom nodded, then showed the phone my father.

"Mmhmm. Looks just like it," he responded, his gaze returning to me. "Is something about it bothering you?"

I chewed on the inside of my lip as I received the phone back from my mother, putting it back in my pocket. "I don't know, it just... I didn't remember the dragons I drew when I first saw it, but it felt really familiar, you know? And in more than just appearance... It was like... I knew it?"

Mom gave a little laugh. "Well Mara, you told us all the time that you saw this dragon in your dreams. You have some kind of connection with it. I used to tell you the same thing when you were little."

I nodded. My mother loved anything supernatural or metaphysical, and made a bit of income off of writing about it on a blog online. It was fairly popular, and people liked her. She focused on studies of dreams and their meanings, though in a less scientific sense. She also ran something of a metaphysical store online, where she sold things like books, homemade things like oils, dried sage, and the like. I loved it, and got to learn so much from her, but the few times I'd mentioned it to people at school, I'd been scoffed at. Only classmates that were interested in occult things were interested. Perhaps it seemed bizarre or creepy to most, but I liked it, and it made my mom happy.

Still, this explanation didn't feel complete. "I remember, but... Why a Duel Monster? Duel Monsters wasn't even a thing when I was that little."

"The creator must have drawn inspiration from somewhere, right?" Dad put in, and my mother nodded.

"That's right. Perhaps there's a legend or myth somewhere about a dragon similar to this. It might be that legend or myth that your connection comes from, and this card was based off of it."

"Mmm..." I had to nod in agreement. That made more sense than her having a connection with a card that hadn't even existed yet.

"Would you like me to do some research? I have a couple websites I know have all kinds of information for these kinds of situations," Mom offered.

"If you have the time, that'd help a lot. Thank you."

"Of course, sweetheart. Now, we'd better getting eating, or this'll all get cold!"

I tried to put the thoughts out of my head, following my mother's cheery example. Ignoring the thoughts completely, however, proved to be impossible, and by the time we'd finished eating and I helped clean up, I was still thinking about that dragon.

I stood at the sink, doing the dishes, and my mother was wiping down the counters behind me. It was as good a time as any to ask more questions. If I was going to get any answers right now, they'd be from my mother, and I knew bringing it up again wouldn't bother her.

"Hey, Mom? About the whole dragon thing... Is it common for two people to have the same connection to something like that?"

"Oh, of course!" she piped up, her tone light. It didn't matter what the situation, she loved these topics. "I would say that what you have to this dragon is rather uncommon, though. Most people connect with a deity, or something less tangible. A specific myth or legend, though, and in this case, a card, maybe, is a little different. It could be that you were even part of it in another life. Or maybe you became obsessed with the legend in a more recent life. It is interesting," she hummed, not realizing she'd gone off on a tangent.

"Yeah, but, me and someone else having the same connection? What would that mean?"

My mother joined my side, taking to drying the dishes after I washed them. "Do you think someone else does?"

"Mmhmm. While we were in the game shop, Seto Kaiba—of all people—showed up, and he was really interested in that card. He offered a whole briefcase of cards to trade, and when Yuugi's grandpa—ah, Yuugi's one of my classmates. When Yuugi's grandpa refused that, Kaiba offered him to name a price. He said he'd pay anything. Yuugi's grandpa still said no, and Kaiba left really, really angry. He really wanted that card." I paused on the dish I was washing, giving a frustrated huff. "I thought maybe he wanted it because it was rare. There are only four of those cards in the world. But when I got home and checked my drawings, and you and Dad recognizing it immediately, I'm wondering if it's the same thing. I don't know... Kaiba's a business guy, I doubt he's much into our hocus pocus."

Mom laughed. "Perhaps. But even if he didn't believe it, something still drew him to that card. It might have been rarity, or it might be something bigger than that. You might not ever get to know."

"That's frustrating," I grumbled, resuming washing the dish before handing it to my mother.

"It can be. That's what happens when you decide to pay attention to things you can't see. A lot of questions go unanswered."

I nodded, but let the subject drop. I wanted to know. I'd figure it out someday. I wanted answers, and I'd get them, one way or another.

That night, I went to sleep without all the answers I wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing this fic on FF.net for YEARS, and I've decided to finally make the switch. I don't really know anything about this website or the way it works, but I've heard really good things about it! 
> 
> This story has two points of view. I write from Mara's for this fic, and my friend zelos888 writes from Ahura's in her fic! Make sure to check out that too--the characters meet up in Battle City, and you'll want to know Ahura's story up until then too! 
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read!


	2. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon

The next morning, I woke up with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon still on my mind. It'd only been a day, but I was beginning worry it would become something of an obsession. Answers were my main goal, but I didn't have the right questions. I hoped Yuugi knew more about it. I could ask him, and if he didn't know, perhaps he could ask his grandfather for me.

I made sure to grab my Duel Monsters deck before running out the door. Yuugi would win against me without a doubt, but it was still an opportunity for me to Duel, and maybe get some pointers.

When I got to school, I held off on the Blue-Eyes questions until lunch. But still, no answers. Yuugi didn't know much about the card or its origins. It left me at another dead end. We all were already planning to visit Yuugi's game shop again anyway, though, and he mentioned that I could ask his grandfather. That had been the plan, so I thanked him and left it at that.

So, I had to wait until the end of the school day. I trodded along beside my new friends as we headed to the game shop, fidgeting with the handle of my bag. 

When we entered the shop, Yuugi called out in greeting again, but this time, there was no response. The lights weren't even on, and the shop felt overwhelmingly empty.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Yuugi called again as he led the way inside. No one responded.

"Not in?" Anzu suggested.

"Rather careless of him to leave without locking the door," Jonouchi added.

I didn't comment. The door was unlocked, but the lights were off, like he'd left purposely. I hoped he really had just forgotten to lock the door.

Before anyone could say anything else, the phone on the wall rang, and Yuugi hurried over to answer it.

"Yes, hello?"

A short pause.

"Kaiba?"

I glanced to Anzu, seeing my own concern reflected on her face. I couldn't hear any of the other end of the phone conversation, but from Yuugi's expression, it wasn't anything good.

When Yuugi hung up, he started heading for the door in a rush. "I have to go to the KaibaCorp building—my grandpa's there."

"You're not going without us!" Jonouchi insisted, hurrying out after him. 

No one wanted to stay behind, so we all followed, and I felt a pit growing in my stomach. Yuugi's distress concerned me. I wanted to ask what he knew, but I had a feeling that if he had any more information, we'd being hearing it.

I had never been to the KaibaCorp building, but I knew where it was. It was the tallest building in the city, and right in the middle of downtown, too. Everyone in the city knew which building was the KaibaCorp building.

When we arrived, there was a stern-looking security guard there to tell us where to go. It felt oddly premeditated. Kaiba must have set this all up. 

As the doors closed us into the elevator, I didn't like to think about what we might find when the door opened back up. In the elevator, as I looked around at everyone, the atmosphere was tense. No one spoke. Everyone was concerned, but there was no reason to panic yet. 

When the elevator arrived on the floor we needed to be at, however, that changed. The door opened to reveal Yuugi's grandfather sprawled out on the ground in the middle of the room. He looked conscious, but exhausted.

My heart leapt into my throat as Yuugi darted forward, and I followed after everyone in exiting the elevator. What kind of situation had I found myself in?  
"Grandpa, hang in there!" Yuugi was saying, kneeling in front of his grandfather.

"Y-Yuugi, I tried to teach that boy that cards have a heart, but..." The older man couldn't finish his sentence.

A chuckle sounded from across the room, and I looked up to see Kaiba standing in the doorway, looking rather proud of himself.

"Well, aren't you running late?" 

Jonouchi reacted first, though I wasn't sure he wasn't preparing to rip Kaiba to shreds. "What the hell did you do to the old man??" 

Kaiba didn't even blink. "We just had a Duel. Betting each of our more treasured cards, of course. Though, the Virtual Simulator I developed may have been too much of a shock for him." He shrugged.

"You played some cheap trick, didn't you??" Anzu accused.

Kaiba snickered. "Hardly! This card is the proof." He held up a card, easily recognizable at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Then, he ripped it in half.

"Ngh...!" My sound of pain was drowned out by everyone's gasps, and for a moment, I could just be thankful I was at the back of the group. My arms crossed tight over my stomach, nausea being my body's reaction to the sudden pain in my chest. It felt like my heart had just been ripped in two! The fact that I was breathing meant it still beat on, though. I almost crumpled to my knees, my whole body shaking, but I managed to stay upright. 

I could barely focus on the following conversation, my ears ringing and my vision fuzzy. The pain slowly faded, as did the other symptoms, but I remained hunched over. When I managed to focus on the situation again, it seemed Yuugi and Kaiba were going to Duel. Yuugi was just taking the deck his grandfather held out to him.

Waving me, Jonouchi, Honda, and Yuugi over, Anzu pulled out a marker. "Put your hands out, everyone!"

I straightened myself out, composing my expression to hide anything, and complied as everyone else did, and Anzu began to draw on our hands, making a big happy face.  
"What's... this?" Jonouchi said, looking at his hand in confusion.

"The ink with eventually fade away, but in our heads, this circle will never disappear. We're in this together!"

We dispersed. With Jonouchi's help, Honda lifted Yuugi's grandpa onto his back, and headed back to the elevator. The rest of us followed, while Yuugi followed Kaiba to wherever they'd be dueling.

When the four of us reached the bottom floor, where an ambulance had been called, Anzu turned to Jonouchi. "We can take Yuugi's grandpa to the hospital. You stay and support Yuugi."

"Got it. Take care of him, Anzu."

As Jonouchi turned to leave, I started to follow. "I'm going too, Anzu!"

The brunette nodded to her, so I hurried off after Jonouchi. As we reentered the elevator, I spoke up. "Hey, Jonouchi, do you think Yuugi can actually beat Kaiba?"

"He's gotta." Jonouchi's voice sounded confident, so I nodded. Kaiba sounded like a pretty hardcore Duelist, though. Yuugi, technically speaking, was an amateur. He was good, but I couldn't be sure that he was good enough to beat Kaiba. If Kaiba really was a national champion, the odds were more in his favour than Yuugi's.

Jonouchi and I ran through the room where Yuugi's grandpa had been and through the door on the opposite side. There was a short, quiet hall, where our footsteps echoed back to us, and when it opened up, we were in a large room with stadium seating. A Duel Monsters arena? 

My steps stuttered when I saw what was in the arena, however. It looked like the monsters were actually there! This must have been what Kaiba had meant when he'd mentioned a Virtual Simulator.

Jonouchi and I had entered just as Yuugi's monster attacked Kaiba's, and his monster won.

Hands clasped in front of me, I paid attention to the Duel silently. This may have just been a challenge between the two, as Yuugi's grandpa was already on the way to the hospital, but it felt like something was riding on this Duel. 

It really was magnificent, seeing the monsters come to life like this. I hadn't known technology like this existed. There was even a Life Point counter at the top of the arena, with Yuugi and Kaiba's names. 

It seemed like Yuugi had turned the tables, and was in a position to win, but Kaiba was unshaken, and his next card was the last thing I expected.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field, and I took in a sharp breath. Incredible. There was no doubt about it now. This dragon was the same one I'd seen my whole life. Even if it was just a hologram, it really stood there before me now, and I was awake. This wasn't a dream.

"Didn't he tear up the old man's card?" Jonouchi mumbled, confused.

"There are supposed to be three more in the world. Didn't Kaiba say that, you know, only three of a card can be in one deck? Maybe he has the others..." I suggested, though my gaze never left the dragon on the field. 

Soon, a second one appeared on the field. Yuugi drew card after card, but the Blue-Eyes defeated them all. It wasn't until he played a Sealing Swords of Light that he got a break. Still, things looked bleak for him. A few turns later, the third and final Blue-Eyes appeared.

I tapped my shoe against the half-wall in front of me. This didn't seem possible for Yuugi to win. I may not have been an expert at Duel Monsters, but I knew a likely loss when I saw it. I wouldn't say that, though. Jonouchi seemed to be holding out hope, and Yuugi hadn't given up.

The silence in the room grew heavy as Yuugi drew what may have been his last card of the Duel. 

"Exodia the Sealed One!" He announced, and from the look on Kaiba's face, that was a big deal.

Yuugi placed a card in each monster card zone, and on the field appeared something larger than all three Blue-Eyes combined. Humanoid, somehow, and looking like something straight out of an Egyptian myth. 

In one attack, it shattered the image on all three Blue-Eyes, and Kaiba's Life Points dropped to zero. 

The battlefield reset, and Yuugi joined us on the sidelines. Jonouchi congratulated Yuugi with enthusiasm, and I managed to do the same.

"That was amazing, Yuugi. I didn't know cards like that existed..." I said, my lips curved in a careful smile. And I'd thought yesterday was weird...

I trailed after Yuugi and Jonouchi as they left, though I glanced back to where Kaiba had been. He was already gone, so I turned back to follow after my friends. I wanted to go home, but I couldn't do so comfortably without going with Yuugi to check on his grandpa. 

When I did get home, it was well after dark. I had a few texts on my phone from my mother, as well as a missed call, so on the bus ride home, I called back, letting her know I was on my way and I’d be there soon.

Now that I was walking through the front door, it’d be all about explaining my way out of a guilt trip. I hadn’t wanted to make my parents worry. I hadn’t been in any danger myself, but the situation had still demanded my attention.

As I closed the door behind me, my mother entered from the living room, a frown pulling at her lips. “There you are. A little late to have gone without an explanation."

I nodded my head, setting my bag on the ground beside me as I slipped out of my shoes. “I know, and I’m really sorry, Mom. Things got a little hectic." I planned on giving her the full story, but now I wondered what parts I should mention, and what parts I shouldn’t. “I went with my friends to Yuugi’s place again, but his grandpa wasn’t there. He actually had ended up at the KaibaCorp building. We went there, and Yuugi and Kaiba Dueled using this… virtual… hologram thing, that actually made the cards look real! Yuugi’s grandpa had to be taken to the hospital though, and that’s what took the longest. He’s going to be fine though! The virtual thingy was a little too much for him."

She sighed, but nodded. “Alright. I’m not mad that you were out a little later, but please, let me know next time? If your attention is being demanded elsewhere, you don’t need to explain right then, just let me know you’ll be late."

“Okay, Mom, I will. I’m sorry."

“It’s alright. You’re lucky I made something cold for dinner, or I’d have been really mad!" Her tone lightened as she headed to the fridge, and I knew I was off the hook. Most of the time, my mom only wanted to make sure I understood what I’d done wrong, and that I needed to not do the same thing next time. After that, everything was fine.

“Help me bring this all to the table, please," Mom continued, and I nodded.

“Of course!” I grabbed what my mother handed to me and walked it to the dining table, setting it there and helping to set everything up.

Soon, my parents and I were all seated and dishing up, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut anymore.

“So, Mom, you remember yesterday, when I told you there were only four Blue-Eyes cards in the world?"

“Mmhmmm.”

“And I mentioned that Kaiba had seemed really interested in the one Yuugi’s grandpa had?"

“Mmhmm, that too."

“I found out today that Kaiba has all three of the other ones. He played all three of them against Yuugi. I got to see them for real! I mean, they were holograms, but they looked real. It was amazing!"

My mother smiled. “That must have been a bit surreal for you, seeing them in front of you like that."

“It was. And to see more than one, too. I’d only ever seen one at a time."

“Mmm. That is odd. You know, I tried to look up some folklore for you, about a white dragon, but there aren’t as many as I expected."

I frowned. “No?”

“The main one on all of the sites I know was about Merlin. It’s the legend of ‘Llud a Llefelys.’ There was a red dragon and a white dragon who are fighting, and terrorizing Britain. Merlin told the king in the end that the dragons were destined to share the same land, and they’d have to cooperate, even if they’d oppose each other. Does that strike a chord with you?"

“Not really,” I sighed, looking at my food. 

“Well, don’t get too discouraged yet. I’m not done looking, and I did find one other one."

I blinked and looked back at my mother, interested.

“It’s a Chinese myth called ‘The Dragon Mother.’ This was during a time where the Jade Emperor wasn’t taking care of his people, and there was a drought. A green dragon saw the people suffering, and when he thought the Jade Emperor wouldn’t notice, he brought the people rain at night.

“The Jade Emperor found out, though, and punished him by cutting his head off, then cutting his body into pieces. The pieces of the dragon’s body rolled down the Whitewater Mountain, and in a bright light, three eggs rolled out from the body. They rolled down a hill, passing by several creatures that didn't care enough to hatch the eggs, until they rolled up to a girl washing her clothes. When she saw the eggs, she tried putting them on a rock, then in her basket, but they kept trying to roll away. She decided to put them into her mouth so they would stay, but they rolled down into her body and stayed there. 

“Right away, she felt sick, and wanted to throw up, but before she could, she had a vision from the green dragon, asking her to hatch them so they could bring rain. The girl couldn’t refuse. She went home, and as the days passed, she began to look more and more pregnant. Everyone in village obviously disapproved, including her parents, but when she tried to explain, no one believed her. She continued to look pregnant for three years and six months.

“That year, the Jade Emperor turned his back on the villagers, who blamed the girl, and said she was a jinx. The chief ordered the parents to strangle her, and if they refused, he’d burn their house down. The father wanted to let her die, but her mother couldn’t allow that. She put seeds of a rape flower in to a walking stick and gave it to her daughter, telling her to escape, and that she’d visit her when the flowers bloomed.

“The girl walked, and each time the walking stick hit the ground, it planted a seed. She walked and walked until she arrived at a place called Cockscomb Cliff on Xiandu Mountain. She was tired and thirsty, but there was no water, and she collapsed by the cliff.

“She woke up when she realized there was water trickling on to her from the cliff, and she climbed all the way to the top, finding a cave with water in it. She stayed in there by herself for a year. By that time, her father back home felt guilty, and wanted to find her to apologize. The mother told him to follow the rape flowers, so he followed them all the way up the cliff. She saw him first, and called to him, but as she did, two dragons, one red and one blue, flew out of her mouth. The girl called out to her father again, and the last dragon, a white one, flew out. She told the dragons to bring the people rain, and to visit her and their grandmother from time to time. Once she said that though, she died.

“The dragons lived on, outsmarting the Jade Emperor and bringing the people rain. Once a year, the white dragon paid respects to the girl’s mother during the Qing Mind Festival, bringing clouds and rain. The villagers called the stream where she got the White Dragon Steam, and built a temple on Cockscomb Cliff, which they called Dragon Mother Temple."

Mom paused, then tilted her head. “How about that one?"

I had to lean back in my chair, mulling it over. “That was a really interesting one, and it resonated with me a little more than the last one, but it’s still not… there, you know?"

She nodded. “That’s alright. I’ll keep looking. Hopefully I’ll find something for you."

“Thanks…” I fell silent for a moment, pondering whether or not I should tell my mother about what happened when Kaiba tore the fourth Blue-Eyes card in half. It seemed a little ridiculous, but maybe it would help her find something. 

“You know, Mom… Kaiba had Dueled Yuugi’s grandpa first, and won the fourth Blue Eyes off of him. When we showed up, he said that since there could only be three of any one card in a deck, a fourth could only be a threat to him, and he tore it in half. When he did that, it… it hurt me. I mean, I physically felt pain from that."

Both my parents paused, looking at me. Dad’s eyebrows were furrowed, while Mom looked surprised.

“Really?” Mom murmured. “That’s… unusual.”

I glanced between my parents. My father didn’t seemed convinced, and my mother even looked a tad skeptical. That didn’t normally happen.

“Ah, maybe—Just forget about it…" I mumbled, embarrassed. I shouldn’t have said anything. I thought if I could talk to anyone about it, it’d definitely be my mother. Now it seemed even she was doubting me.

I remained silent through dinner and cleaning up, only speaking to thank my mother for dinner before slinking down to my room.

Feeling defeated, I changed out of my school uniform, opting instead for pajamas, and flopped on to my back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. So, I’d hit another dead end. My parents likely wouldn’t take me seriously now. What I’d experienced really was a stretch, but it’d happened. I couldn’t deny that. But now, I had no one to turn to. I was stuck figuring this out on my own.

With what little evidence I had, I didn’t have any leads. I tried to pick apart the details of the legend my mother had told me, but nothing clicked. Nothing worked. I needed to find a new way of approaching this.

Think. My father had mentioned that the creator of Duel Monsters must have gotten their inspiration from somewhere. Maybe that information was somewhere online.

I pushed myself up from the bed and walked to my desk, sitting in the chair and opening my laptop. I didn’t know where else to start other than typing some keywords into the search bar. I had to start from somewhere.

Unsurprisingly, I found myself at a Duel Monsters forum, where people were discussing the origins of various cards. It was all speculation, but it seemed many cards tied back to ancient Egypt. There were pictures of cards side by side with pictures of tablets and artifacts in museums. Nothing specifically about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but it was a start.

Opening a new tab, I looked into interviews from the creator, Pegasus, about his inspiration for the game. I didn’t get anything solid, but there were mentions of certain cards specifically that did directly tie back to Egypt, or Egyptian culture. That meant if nothing else, at least _some _cards had Egyptian roots. Maybe the Blue-Eyes did too.__

__Before I could get much further, there was a knock on the wall at the bottom of the stairs, startling me out of my focus. I turned around, seeing my mother standing there._ _

__“Oh, hey, Mom.” I spun my chair around to face her straight on, cocking my head. “Everything okay?”_ _

__“Yes, but it’s getting late. You should go to bed pretty soon."_ _

__I furrowed her eyebrows, glancing back at the time on my laptop. It was already past eleven._ _

__“Oh, I didn’t even realize… I’ll get off my computer pretty quick here."_ _

__My mother nodded, looking oddly conflicted. After a moment or two of silence, she walked further in the room, sitting on my bed facing me. “Sweetheart, about what you said earlier, about Kaiba tearing the card?"_ _

__I began chewing the inside of my lip, but nodded._ _

__“Well… Don’t you think maybe… digging any further into this might be dangerous?"_ _

__"Huh...?" My mother’s words shocked me. Usually, these talks were all in good fun. We believed something bigger was there, but it was never tangible. Never dangerous. It was always speculation, and research, and fun. But the suggestion that this could be dangerous...?_ _

__I furrowed my eyebrows. “I… haven’t considered it. I’ve been seeing this dragon my whole life, and now it’s in more than just my dreams. I want to know."_ _

__“Sometimes, there are things we’re just not meant to understand, honey."_ _

__I frowned. “Mom…?”_ _

__My mother sighed, clasping her hands in her lap. “If this connection you have can have such a physical effect on you, it might not be something to pursue. How do you know it’s benevolent? If it hurt you?"_ _

__“Mom, I didn’t think you even believed me, about it hurting me…"_ _

__“I do believe you. I don’t think it’s a good idea to continue chasing after this, though. I don’t think it’s safe."_ _

__I had to pause. What could I say? My mother was concerned for my safety, but this dragon had never been a threat to me before. I’d never seen it that way; neither of us had._ _

__“This… is still the same dragon from when I was a kid. The one I drew for you when I dreamed about it. It never hurt me as a child. Besides, it wasn’t the dragon that hurt me. Kaiba tore the card in half, and I think that’s what caused it."_ _

__“But if someone else hurting this dragon hurts you as well, that doesn’t make it any less dangerous."_ _

__This was crazy. My mother had never tried to discourage me from following after something like this. Did she know something I didn’t?_ _

__“Mom… Did you find something? Online, that you’re not telling me?"_ _

__“No, sweetheart, I told you everything you found. But I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before. And if it can hurt you, there’s no question of it being dangerous."_ _

__“I can’t abandon it, though," I insisted, stubbornness welling within me. “This is important to me. This has been… My whole life, this has been a part of me. I can’t give up on something that might be… who I am. It might be dangerous—I don’t think it is—but even if it is, I need to figure this out. No matter what."_ _

__As I continued to speak, I watched my mother’s expression grow more and more concerned. At the end of it all, though, she still nodded. “Okay… I can see I’m not going to persuade you, but please be careful, honey. And keep me updated. If something else happens like that, I want to know."_ _

__I nodded. “I’ll tell you. I promise."_ _

__“Okay,” she repeated, standing and stepping forward to press a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow."_ _

__“Alright. Goodnight, Mom.”_ _

__“Goodnight.”_ _

__I watched her disappear up the stairs, then leaned back in my chair, covering my face with my hands. This had gone from weird to scary too fast. This wasn’t just a card I related with anymore. This was really something serious; my mom’s reaction on its own was enough to show that. I didn’t know what it was about this dragon, but I had told the truth. I couldn’t give up. I didn’t know how long it’d take, or what I’d have to go through to get there, but I’d find the end of this road. I had to._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter is a little slow, I think, but things are picking up! I actually looked up real legends of white dragons for this one. And sheesh, there really aren't that many! But I'd read the dragon mother myth on tumblr years ago, and had to go digging for it to find it! 
> 
> Still getting used to this site too. It confuses me -A-


	3. Set Sail For The Kingdom

In the next month, things almost seemed normal. I talked to friends at school, and typically went home to dig through the internet for as much information regarding the Blue-Eyes White Dragon as I could. Despite the little bit of drama that had ensued immediately following me meeting Yuugi, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda, I enjoyed hanging out with them after that. If I were being completely honest, I also felt that I could get some answers about the Blue-Eyes by being around them, too. Maybe it made no sense practically, but the Blue-Eyes reentered my life the same day I met them. For now, it was the only lead I had.

One morning, I felt a somber mood hanging over them at school, and the moment I had the time to talk to them, I joined them as they were huddled around a desk, investigating a few Duel Monsters cards. I'd stayed at home to help my mother clean up the house the night prior, instead of accepting their offer to hang out. They had planned on watching a Duel Monsters Tournament that Jonouchi had entered but been dropped out of rapidly. I wanted to go, but I still felt like I needed to make it up to my mother for the times I'd been late coming home.

Turned out, instead, Yuugi had somehow been challenged to a Duel by the game’s creator, Pegasus J. Crawford, and he’d lost. As a result, his grandfather’s soul had been taken. I’d never heard of anything like that happening, but the fact was Yuugi’s grandfather was in the hospital with perfectly healthy vital signs, but unresponsive. The only way Pegasus told him he’d give his soul back was if Yuugi entered his tournament and won.

Every day that passed after that seemed more tense as the tournament approached. The day that Yuugi was going to leave, when class let out, I noticed Honda and Anzu approaching my desk. Normally, once class ended, we’d just say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. This was different.

I stuffed my things in my bag and stood, just as Anzu spoke. 

"Mara, Honda and I had an idea!" 

I gave a little laugh at the vagueness of her words. "Okay, for what?" 

"For going with Yuugi to the tournament!" 

Despite her upbeat energy, I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Don't we need invitations?" 

"To get onboard while being noticed, yeah," Honda spoke, and I wasn't sure I liked the mischief in his expression. 

Anzu continued, "We won't be able to get on the ship like that, but what about with everything else they'll be loading on to it? We could sneak on with the cargo." 

My eyes widened. "You're really willing to do that? That's really, really illegal." 

"We can't let Yuugi go to the tournament by himself, though," Anzu insisted, her frown stubborn. "We're telling you now in case you wanted to come with." 

I took a deep breath, scratching the back of my head. It was dangerous and stupid, but that only made it sound more interesting. "I want to, but what about my parents? What could I tell them?" 

"Say you're at my house for the weekend!" Anzu chirped, smiling with confidence. "They wouldn't mind you hanging out at your friend's, would they?" 

I shook my head. "No, they'd be fine with that. I mean, you guys are really serious about this?" They both nodded. I paused, mulling it over for a moment, and once I came to a conclusion, I nodded back. "Alright, I'm in." 

"Good! The ship will be letting passengers on around nine-thirty, so we need to get there before that to make sure we get on," Anzu explained. "I'll text you more about where we'll meet. We're planning on being there at least an hour early." 

"Okay. Soon, so I can give my parents the fake plan." 

"Got it! We'll see you tomorrow then." 

I nodded again and grabbed my bag, sighing as I left the room. 

Part of me was excited to do something so adventurous, but I did wonder if I'd found myself hanging around people who attracted these kinds of things. Maybe I didn't mind. It was fun planning all of it. I'd have to see if it was fun living it. This was a dangerous scenario, and just because it seemed fun didn’t mean it also wasn’t completely illegal.

As I paused in the entry room of the school to switch back to my outdoor shoes again, I saw Makoto standing at the end of the row, his eyebrows furrowed as he talked to someone. Or, it looked more like as someone talked to him. I recognized Maemi easily; her bright red hair really was hard to miss. This scenario wasn't new. Maemi still hunted down Makoto to talk to him, trying to get back together. Maemi wasn't a mean person, and when the subject wasn't Makoto, I really liked talking to her. Whenever I saw them talking though, I couldn't blame Makoto for actively trying to avoid her. She was still pretty stuck on him. While it must have been hard for Makoto, I felt a little bad for Maemi too. She obviously cared about him a lot.

I did my best to keep to myself, changing back into my outdoor shoes, but then waited until Maemi hurried off, looking upset. She headed out of the school, and I caught sight of Maemi's best friend, Liam, chasing after her. I didn't know Liam barely at all, just that he had moved here from Ireland because his father had to transfer for work. Even though he spoke perfect Japanese, his Irish accent was ever present. He'd followed Maemi around like a lost puppy ever since he'd met her, and anyone could see he really liked her. He must have never said anything to her, though. 

I could tell Makoto clearly looked frustrated, but I stepped over to him anyway, peering up at him. "Hey." 

Makoto glanced at me, unsurprised by my appearance. He must have seen me before. "Hey. Guess you saw all that?" 

"I did. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." 

He shook his head, chuckling. "I don't think it's possible for her outbursts to be private. I think she likes to make other people see, hoping it'll make me go easy on her. I don't know what else I could say to be any kinder about it, though. She doesn't take even the nicest 'no' for an answer." He cleared his throat then. "Anyway, it's in the past. I was actually going to text you later, but I'll tell you now. You know that shopping center by the ocean Critias always calls the boardwalk? Me, him, and couple others are going to be hanging out there on Sunday, if you want to join in. It probably won't be the whole day, so it won't take up too much of your time. We haven't hung out in a while, you know?"

My heart grew heavy. It seemed I'd somewhat neglected my other friends since meeting Anzu and them. I missed it. "I'm... actually not going to be around this weekend," I sighed, frowning. "I'm sorry, that sounds really fun, though. Maybe just you, me, and Critias can hang out sometime next weekend or something? Next time everyone's free?" I had to make the offer, otherwise I would have felt worse. I wanted to join them; I really did. This weekend just happened to be the one weekend I wasn't free. 

"Hey, it's alright, don't look so upset." He chuckled, though from the look in his eyes, he seemed a little concerned. Maybe I really did look so upset. "We'll hang out some other time, alright?" 

"Alright. Thanks for inviting me, Makoto. I guess I haven't been as sociable recently. I need to get back out there!" I twittered, bringing myself to smile again. I didn’t want him worrying too much about me over something little like this. "I'll see you around?" 

"You know it." 

As I walked past him, my smile faded. I didn't regret making friends with Yuugi and Anzu and them, but I couldn't believe I hadn't realized I'd barely spoken to the rest of my friends since. That was awful of me. I’d give my focus to my new friends this weekend, but I wouldn't forget about my old friends again. Now that I thought about it, I wondered what Makoto would think about everything I had seen and experienced since the start of the school year. He had said something interesting was bound to happen. Understatement of the year. 

When I arrived back home, I told my mother I'd be staying at Anzu's for the weekend, and headed downstairs to pack a bag. I didn't know what all I'd be needing, so I packed light, packing a single change of clothes and a water bottle. Being the beginning of the school year, the weather remained a bit cold, so I put in a light sweater as well. 

All while packing, I responded to each of Anzu's texts. We'd be meeting near the pier, meaning I would be taking the bus. 

Not wanting to have to worry about the time, I changed out of my school uniform and grabbed my backpack, hurrying out the door as soon as I could. 

When I arrived at our meeting place, Honda was already there, and Anzu arrived a few minutes later. 

"Are you guys sure about this?" I murmured as we investigated the ship from a distance, looking for an easy way in. "There might be a bunch of security by the time they start loading all of that on there." 

"We'll make it work." Honda's response was simple. Whatever happened, he and Anzu were dead set on getting on that ship. 

"Alright..." I sighed, taking the down time to braid my hair. I didn't want it getting caught on anything. 

As night fell, the three of us began making our way closer, and thanks to some commotion near the line of passengers, the two security guards that were around were drawn over there, giving us a clear path to sneaking into one of the shipping containers. 

Being the last one to enter, I paused at the entrance, hands balling into fists as my heart rate climbed. "What if we get locked in here...?" 

"Then they'll unlock it when we get there! Come on, before we get caught!" Honda hissed, motioning for me to move with his hand. 

"Okay, okay..." I murmured shakily, following them to the back. The container was dark, and cramped, and absolutely too small. What kind of a plan was this? 

It only took a few minutes before someone began hooking the box up to the crane, and without anyone noticing there were three stowaways on board, it was lifted on to the ship. Panic welled within me. I kept quiet though, not wanting to give us away. Still, my heart raced, and my breathing quickened, hands clutching in fists over my stomach. Nausea washed over me, but I tried to put it out of my mind. Tiny spaces plus puke didn't go together very well.

In a loud thunk that shook the box, the crane dropped us on the ship. The three of us stayed silent and in place until all the cargo had be lifted on the ship, and the whole time, I was curled up in a courner with my eyes closed, trying to imagine that we were in a big, open room. 

It must have taken half an hour, but I finally felt movement, and the area around us was silent.

"I think we can leave now..." Honda whispered, walking quietly toward the door. I looked up to watch him, sighing in relief when he pushed the door open. We wouldn't be stuck in there the whole time.

I pushed myself to my feet and dusted myself off, adjusting the bag on my shoulders and following Anzu to join Honda outside. As I stepped out of the box, it was like a weight had lifted from my chest. I hoped I never had to experience anything like that again...

Anzu glanced back at me while we were sneaking to a more hidden spot, and her eyebrows rose. "Mara, are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick."

I nodded in response. "I'm fine now. I'm just not good with small spaces."

Anzu frowned, concerned. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Mmhmm. Thanks, Anzu."

Honda waved the two of us over to a little courner, and we hurried to join him. For now, there didn't seem to be any security around, but it was best to be safe. 

"Let's hide out here," he said, sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall. 

I nodded, taking a look around before following suit. There were a few big pipes in front of us which would hide them from anyone that would walk by on the deck. It seemed as good a place as any to hide.

For the most part, we sat in silence, unsure of what else to do. At one point, Anzu picked out another of our classmates, Bakura, but he was only on the outer deck for a short while before he returned inside.

About an hour of silence later, I heard something. It sounded like... yelling?

"Hey, Anzu..."

"I hear it too..."

Was that...?

"Yuugi?" I mumbled, and the three of us stood, walking to the railing of the ship. I had planned on peering over to see the lower decks, but when I reached the railing, I caught sight of Yuugi and Jonouchi in the water. "Ah, guys!"

Honda must have already seen them too, and was looking around for something to throw them. I glanced around, and hanging on the railing to my left was a rolled up rope ladder. "Honda, here!" I ran to the rope ladder and grabbed it, tossing it to Honda. 

He hooked it on the railing and let it hang all the way down the side of the ship, and Anzu called, "Yuugi!"

Somehow, they heard her, and swam over to grab hold of the ladder. Jonouchi climbed up first, and Yuugi followed after, both of them collapsing on to the deck as Honda helped them over the railing.

We let the two catch their breath, though Yuugi, as always, seemed in high spirits.

"You guys saved us! But why are you on the ship?"

"Well, we were worried about you." Anzu smiled.

Honda added, "We couldn't let you go alone."

"This is something you'll need your friends around for," I murmured, my arms folding over my stomach.

"Thanks, guys!" Yuugi grinned, looking genuinely happy despite the situation.

Jonouchi, on the other hand...

"Sorry, Yuugi..." The blond mumbled. "I only found two of the cards..."

"It's okay, Jonouchi."

"No, it's not! I'm always like this. I can't help anyone. Not even my little sister..."

"Your little sister?"

Jonouchi nodded, and explained, saying his sister would go blind if he couldn't get the money from winning the tournament.

"Then we'll do our best!" Yuugi insisted. "For your sister and my grandpa!"

The rest of the night went thankfully smoother, and when morning came, Anzu, Honda, and I decided we'd exit the ship with everyone else. Honda seemed on edge about it, which I found a little funny. He'd been so eager about sneaking on the ship, but walking off of it made him nervous.

So, there we were. We had all actually made it to Duelist Kingdom. It felt surreal. This tournament had been the subject of all our conversations for the past week, and now we wouldn't just be talking about it anymore. Everyone's excitement buzzed in the air, and it filled me with energy. Even if we were here for serious reasons, I had a lot to look forward to. This was the first real Duel Monsters tournament I'd ever been to.

It was going to be a strange weekend.


	4. Time Machine

Somehow, Yuugi had won ten Star Chips.

That was the requirement to the finals, and somehow, Yuugi did it. I knew that he'd been determined, but we were still just high school kids. I didn't think he would power through to the top, and win every Duel he was a part of. He truly had a talent for the game, but uncannily so. For this being the first tournament he'd ever entered, it seemed impossible for him to go undefeated. Somehow, he did. 

If that wasn't shocking enough, Jonouchi managed to earn ten Star Chips too. For him, though, it was luck. Literally. His deck seemed based around luck cards. It wasn't the most solid strategy, but hey, if it worked for him, who was I to judge? 

Right out the gate, Yuugi beat Insector Haga first, a snotty, bowl-hair-cut kid with an Insect-Type deck. The jerk was also responsible for Yuugi's lack of Exodia cards for this tournament. Regardless, as I perhaps said too much, what goes around comes around, and Haga got his karma. Yuugi knocked him out of the tournament. 

That same day, a blonde woman named Mai Kujaku challenged Jonouchi to a Duel. Yuugi and Jonouchi had met her on the ship here, but Anzu, Honda, and I hadn't met her until then. She had an incredible strategy, as well as a trick that she used in an attempt to psych out her opponents. She sprayed a different perfume on to each card, but told her opponents that she could guess her cards without looking. Jonouchi literally caught scent of the lie, though, and out of the pure luck of his Time Wizard card working, Jonouchi managed to win. 

After Yuugi won another Duel against a strange man with an ocean-themed deck named Ryota Kajiki, we ran into Mokuba, Seto Kaiba's little brother. He'd been kidnapped by Pegasus as part of a scheme for Pegasus to take over KaibaCorp. There were all these little details that were revealing how much of a problem Pegasus really was. He wasn't just the power-hungry creator of Duel Monsters, but apparently did some really shady things as well. Around this time, I started to be concerned about the safety of my friends and myself.

Despite our best efforts, Mokuba was captured by Pegasus again, and all we could do was keep working to get Yuugi the Star Chips for us to get into the castle. That would be the only way of getting him out of there. 

Jonouchi managed to beat Dinosaur Ryuzaki that day, as well, and he got a Red-Eyes Black Dragon card out of it. Ryuzaki had been recruited by Mai in a poor attempt to get back at Jonouchi. Instead, Jonouchi won with his Time Wizard card, just like before.

That night, we ran into Mai again. Even though she'd caused us a bit of trouble, I liked her. She was tough as nails, and didn't sugarcoat her words. I'd admit that Mai was a bit scary, as well. She was a few years older than us, and could flip from joking to saying something almost too serious. Still, she was kind, and shared the food that she'd brought for the tournament with us. She even had a makeshift shower that she let Anzu and I use. She stood watch for each of us, too. I found myself looking up to her a little.

Even though we all seemed to be getting along, she went off on her own for a while, leaving us all to finish our food without her. 

As it was just the five of us sitting around a campfire, we were joined by our classmate, Bakura.

—

_ "...In this island, everyone put our hearts in our cards," Jonouchi says, feigning drama. His serious expression is quickly replaced with a goofy grin. "Just joking..."  _

_ "What's the card you like the most, Jonouchi?" Bakura asks, his tone quiet as it always seems to be.  _

_ "Eh? Of course, it's this one." He holds up the card. "From now on, I am the Flame Swordsman!" He stands and pretends to swing a sword, complete with a loud, "Ha!"  _

_ Honda joins in. "Then I'm this one, Commander!"  _

_ I give a little laugh as Anzu says, "Really, they're like kids..."  _

_ "But what Jonouchi said was true," Yuugi chirps. "You too, Anzu. What's your favourite card?"  _

_ "For me, it's this one." She holds up a Saint Magician card, then looks to me. "Mara, too!" I blink in surprise, but sift through my deck until I find it. "This one. Black Magician Girl." I hold up the card. "She's one of my strongest cards."  _

_ "And what's your favourite, Yuugi?" Bakura quizzes, and Yuugi's expression lit up.  _

_ "Mine is Black Magician, easy! But what's your favourite, Bakura?"  _

_ "I like this one." Bakura held up a magic card.  _

_ "Change of Heart?" My eyebrows rise. "You're the only one whose favourite is a magic card."  _

_ "You like a weird card," Jonouchi states matter-of-factly, and I frown at him. Jonouchi doesn't seem to mind that his words are rude.  _

_ Bakura doesn't react to Jonouchi's comment, turning his attention back to Yuugi. "Oh, yeah, Yuugi, why don't we have a Duel? We don't need to bet any Star Chips."  _

_ "Okay! It'll be nice to have a Duel without any pressure." _

_ Bakura looks at everyone else. "How about you put your favourite cards in Yuugi's deck? So it's like we're all Dueling."  _

_ Everyone seems in agreement, and we each hand our favourite cards to Yuugi. We all settle around a tree stump for the Duel. Everything seems fine at first, but an odd silence falls over the clearing. The air seems to shimmer, and there's a sound like wind chimes all around us.  _

_ "What is that...?" I murmur, but looking to everyone else, they seem just as confused. Everyone but Bakura. I watch an item of jewelry that matches Yuugi's in material and style appear through his shirt and after that, it's nearly unexplainable. I feel as though I'm being ripped from my body, and my vision goes double for a split second before I'm unconscious.  _

_ Then, I'm opening my eyes, and at first, all I can see is sparkling light. All around me, it's like millions and millions of little stars, and when they fall, I'm not in space, like I expected, but instead, standing in front of my friends. My eyebrows furrow.  _

_ Why is everyone cosplaying?  _

_ "Uhm, guys? Am I missing something?"  _

_ Jonouchi and Honda are staring, and Yuugi's doing his best not to even glance at me. Anzu looks at her like she feels bad for me.  _

Don't tell me... _  I look down at myself. Yep. Black Magician Girl.  _

_ My first reaction is to glare at Jonouchi and Honda. "Would you two stop staring?? You're not dogs!" The two of them immediately look embarrassed and turn away.  _

_ Giving a sigh, I fold my arms over my stomach and look at Anzu. "What's going on?"  _

_ "It's a little hard to explain. We're in something called a 'Dark Game.' Our souls were put into our favourite cards."  _

Okay, so it's a dream. _ "Oh. Where's..." I begin to look around for Bakura, and instead of finding what I expect, across the playing field, there's a giant Bakura, watching us as if we're ants.  _

_ The shock causes me to let out a shriek and fall back on my rear. The situation becomes somewhat clear to me. We're literally on the playing field, and the size of Duel Monsters. But if we were all there, who was Dueling Bakura?  _

_ I turn, and decide it's time to give up. There's a giant Yuugi sitting there. I look back at my friends hopelessly, and the Yuugi there decides to speak.  _

_ "It's a little hard to explain..."  _

_ I interrupt him. "Why are there two of you?"  _

_ "It... has something to do with my Millennium Puzzle. That's the spirit the sleeps within the Puzzle. It's the other me." _

_ I am left speechless for a moment. This was  _ definitely _ a dream. I'd play along for now, though. "So... what now, then?"  _

_ Giant Yuugi speaks this time, his voice deeper than I expected. "I played your card this turn, so you have to attack."  _

_ I glance up at him, then across the field as I push myself to stand. There's a face-down monster there. "Any idea what it is?"  _

_ "So far, there have been two Metamorph Pots, and an Electrical Lizard."  _

_ My eyes widen. "I can't imagine an Electrical Lizard would be good news..." Still, I take a deep breath, step forward, and point my staff toward the card. "Black Magic...?"  _

_ To my shock, just like in the hologram Duels, everything went negative for a moment, and the card reveals itself before shattering. I jump in surprise, but thankfully, it's another Metamorph Pot. Everyone sighs in relief, and I hurry back over to the group.  _

_ Giant Yuugi and Giant Bakura discard their hands and draw new ones, but before anyone can relax, Giant Bakura speaks.  _

_ "I'll tell you that this card," he sets a monster card face-down, "is Man-Eater Bug."  _

_ I gulp. I may not know the rules of this dream Duel Monsters scenario, but I know that card can't be good news for any of us.  _

_ "Yuugi, what's that card?" Jonouchi asks.  _

_ "When it's activated, one monster card on the field is destroyed."  _

_ I fold my arms over my stomach tightly. "Do we... actually go to the Graveyard...?"  _

_ From Honda's reaction, the answer is yes. _

_ "Can't we just defeat it in the next turn?" Jonouchi looks back at the card.  _

_ "We can't. It activates if it's attacked. We can prevent it if we use the Trap Card." Yuugi looks to the card face-down behind us. "Hunting Horn of Death. But to activate it, it requires a sacrifice."  _

_ "We can't do that!" Anzu protests.  _

_ "What else can we do, though?" I lift a hand so I can chew on my thumbnail.  _

_ "Honda just came back from the Graveyard. Now it's my turn to go." Jonouchi decides, and before anyone can stop him, he charges toward the card. Before he can attack it, the Man-Eater Bug appears and stands up, taking Jonouchi with it. The blond clings to the creatures head, yelling, "Other Yuugi! Use the Trap! Now's your chance!"  _

_ Giant Yuugi hesitates, but nods. "I activate the trap card, Hunting Horn of Death." Across the field, a blinding light covers the Man-Eater Bug's form, and blinks both it and Jonouchi off the field.  _

_ Silence follows. No one knows what to do, or what to say. I can hear Anzu's quickened breath behind me.  _

_ Unsurprisingly, it is Bakura that breaks the silence. "Don't worry, you'll all go to the same place. Now, it's my turn."  _

_ Before Bakura can continue, I notice my shadow in front of me growing more prominent as something lights up behind me. I turn around, and see Anzu, all covered in white light. "Anzu!" _

_ Giant Yuugi speaks. "When Saint Magicians effect is activated, I can recover one magic card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Resurrection of the Dead!" He plays the card, and appearing on top of it is Jonouchi.  _

_ "Huh?" The blond looked around, then breaks out in a smile "Guys!"  _

_ "None of them being in the graveyard is weird..." Bakura grumbles from the other side of the field. He doesn't give us time to celebrate Jonouchi's return. The male places a monster card that I don't recognize face-up on the field, then says, "And also this..." He holds up the Change of Heart card. "I'll use this on Black Magician. Yuugi, you will fight your friends!"  _

_ He slaps the card on the field, and from it appears... Bakura? The normal-sized Bakura floats over to the monster card the giant Bakura had played, taking over its form. "Yuugi, attack me! Hurry up! You have to defeat the Duelist of Darkness!"  _

_ I'm too baffled to figure out what's really going on. _

_ Yuugi shook his head. "But if I do that... Your soul will..."  _

_ "I don't care! It's better than having an evil being controlling me! Now!"  _

_ "Bastard!" Giant Bakura snarls, but before he can do anything, something happens.  _

_ The battlefield lights up, and before I know what is happening, the Bakuras switched. Our classmate is now the Giant Bakura.  _

_ "It's my turn!" Giant Yuugi speaks. "Black Magician Yuugi, attack the High Priest!"  _

_ "Understood! Black Magic!" The field goes negative for a second, and the High Priest Bakura shatters. _

__

That's all I could remember. After that, I'd woken up on the ground in the forest.

For a while, I continued to try to convince myself that it'd been a dream, but I wasn't sure. It'd felt so real, and everyone seemed to recall the same thing after we'd woken up, not to mention that no one had remembered going to sleep. 

We quickly put the whole thing behind us, however, as mere minutes after we'd woken up, we heard Mai scream from the forest. We all chased after the sound, and found Mai, her Dueling Glove emptied of Star Chips. She'd been defeated by a 'Player Killer,' someone hired by Pegasus to weed Duelists out of the tournament. Yuugi challenged him to win back Mai's Star Chips, and he won. Mai refused the Chips at first, but after some convincing, decided to accept them on the condition that she'd pay him back for them.

Afterward, we found a different place to camp, near a cliff over hanging the ocean. Since everyone was exhausted, it seemed that everyone but me fell asleep right away. I had a lot on my mind, however, and it kept me awake. 

There wouldn't have been much time to sleep then, anyway. 

—

_ Since there was limited space in the tent Mai had offered us, Anzu slept in there. Whenever I would go to sleep, there would be enough room for me to sleep in there as well. All the boys slept outside, though Yuugi and Bakura were up talking about something. I didn't want to intrude, so I had sprawled out on the grass out of hearing range.  _

_ As I stare up at the stars, I try to sort everything out in my head. So much had happened. When we left for Duelist Kingdom, I felt like a regular high school student. Now, I feel like there's something larger going on. Souls taken, Millennium Items, kidnappings. This was all ramping up to more than a Duel Monsters tournament.  _

_ In the distance, there's the sound of a helicopter. I ignore it at first, assuming there's one flying overhead somewhere, but eventually, it got loud enough to concern me, and I sat up just in time to see the helicopter pop up from around the cliff.  _

_ The noise and light wakes everyone up, and Anzu pokes her head out of the tent as the helicopter lands, right in front of us.  _

_ I hesitate at first, but seeing that all my friends are approaching the helicopter, I sit up and push myself up from the cool grass, hurrying to stand beside Anzu. The last person I expected to see hopping down onto the grass was Seto Kaiba.  _

_ My heart skips a beat. Was he always that tall, or did his serious expression make him look more intimidating? I notice he's not wearing the familiar school uniform, and instead wears a blue trench coat, and looks like he's on a mission. If he needed to walk in my direction, I knew I'd be stepping way out of the way in a heartbeat. _

_ I assume everyone else feels the same, but despite his demeanor, it's a bit of a relief to see him. Our last run-in with him personally hadn't gone so well, but last we'd heard of him, Yuugi was Dueling a Kaiba doppelganger, preaching about Seto Kaiba's death, saying he was his ghost. In the end, we'd learned he wasn't really dead, but we hadn't seen him until now. I feel glad to see that he really is still alive.  _

_ "Kaiba!" Yuugi is the first to move, hurrying over to the taller male.  _

_ "It's been a while, Yuugi."  _

_ Yuugi nods, digging into his pockets. "Here... Your deck. I saved it for you."  _

_ I had nearly forgotten that Yuugi had that. When Yuugi defeated the fake Kaiba—who somehow had Kaiba's deck—he'd taken the deck back to give it to Kaiba when he next saw him.  _

_ Kaiba takes the cards from Yuugi, and says, "For now, I'll thank you." It seems like there's more he could have said, but instead, he turns to walk away.  _

_ "Kaiba, you understand the heart of the cards now, right?" Yuugi calls after him hopefully.  _

_ There's a short pause as Kaiba stops walking, but remains silent, so Yuugi asks, "What is it?"  _

_ "Right now, I don't have the answer for that. To protect Mokuba and Kaiba Corporation, I will defeat Pegasus." As he speaks, he turns back to Yuugi. "By any means necessary."  _

_ There's no response, so Kaiba turns back around and resumes walking. Out of the courner of her eye, I see Jonouchi moving, and I grumble in warning, "Jonouchi..." Whenever Jonouchi takes action, it always seems to end up bad.  _

_ He doesn't listen to me, of course, and runs forward to cut off Kaiba, grabbing him by the shirt collar to stop him, yelling, "Wait a minute, Kaiba!"  _

_ Kaiba is unfazed.  _

_ "All the people in Duelist Kingdom have to work hard to win ten Star Chips in order to fight that same Pegasus! It doesn't matter what your reason are, I won't forgive you if you pass over us!"  _

_ I clench my jaw.  _ That's _  why Jonouchi was so angry? I could see where he spoke from, but what Kaiba did really wasn't any of our business.  _

_ Instead of responding, Kaiba grips one of Jonouchi's hands with his own and literally throws him aside, causing him to tumble to the ground. Yuugi hurries to Jonouchi's side. I'm too shocked to respond. _

_ "Are you alright, Jonouchi?"  _

_ "Damn..." Jonouchi grumbles, beginning to push himself to his feet.  _

_ I almost feel guilty for thinking he deserved it.  _

_ Kaiba turns to face him. "Jonouchi, it can't be that you're participating in this too, can it?" Even with such a smooth insult, Kaiba's face isn't even a sneer. I actually begin to wonder if it was an honest question instead of an insult.  _

_ "Don't underestimate me! I may not look like much, but I was in the best eight of a tournament!" Jonouchi yells. It seems that's his only way of speaking.  _

_ "The...  _ Regional _  Championship Tournament." I mention, though don't say anything more.  _

_ "If even someone like  _ you _  is a Duelist here, this island's level must be pretty low," Kaiba continues, infuriating Jonouchi further.  _

_ "What?!"  _

_ "Stop it, Jonouchi!" Honda speaks up, which surprises me. I assumed Honda would be onboard with Jonouchi's behaviour, but it seems even Honda has a more rational head on his shoulders.  _

_ The courners of Kaiba's lips tug up in a subtle smirk, but without another word, he turns to continue walking away.  _

_ "Wait, Kaiba! I'm not the same person as before. Fight me! If you want to battle Pegasus, first you'll have to face me off!"  _

Oh brother... _ I roll my eyes, but remain silent. Jonouchi really manages to get on my nerves. He makes everything personal, doesn't he? _

_ Honda, Anzu, and Bakura hurry over and attempt to discourage him from Dueling Kaiba, but I remain where I am. Maybe it would be good for him to get beat by Kaiba in a Duel. It would remind him that he's not the top Duelist around just because he defeated a few strong Duelists. Jonouchi wasn't a weak Duelist, but he had no chance against Kaiba.  _

_ "What's the problem, Kaiba? Here and now, Duel me!" Jonouchi continues to instigate.  _

_ To my shock, Kaiba turns around, smirking. "Interesting. I will shatter that glass confidence you have, until there's nothing left."  _

_ My eyebrows raise. Perhaps I should have had a different reaction, but Kaiba's arrogance didn't make me dislike him.   _

_ I chew on the inside of my cheek. Is it bad that I feel excited? This is obviously a different Kaiba than the one Yuugi Dueled a month before.  _

_ "Kaiba..." Yuugi begins to protest.  _

_ "Don't worry, this battle won't put your Star Chips at stake. I will only use Jonouchi's energy to test my new Duel Disk system." Kaiba kneels and sets his briefcase on the ground to open it.  _

_ I look around to see if anyone else knows what Kaiba means by 'Duel Disk,' but since everyone looks confused, I don't ask.  _

_ Kaiba lifts a flat, round device from the briefcase and tosses it to Jonouchi, who catches it. "Put that on your left arm."  _

_ "What is it?"  _

_ "A Duel Disk. The new card battle machine I've created. Even without a Duel Ring, it can create a field using a virtual simulation system. First, fix the Deck Holder on your left arm."  _

_ I try to inch closer so I can see the Duel Disk as Jonouch does what Kaiba instructed.  _

_ "What next?"  _

_ "Just watch."  _

_ I turn my attention to Kaiba, watching him put his deck into the Deck Holder. "Set your cards in the Deck Holder to activate it." The machine lights up, displaying the number 2000 on a little screen there. A Life Point counter. "You'll set the card you will use in the middle of the Duel Disk. Then you throw the Duel Disk in the field." Without hesitation, Kaiba demonstrated, marking the start of the Duel. Launched into the field like a frisbee, the Duel Disk spins and hovers above the ground, a burst of glittering light manifesting above it. From the light emerges the hologram of the card Minotaur, looking more real than in a Duel Ring.  _

_ I stare. Incredible. The Duel Rings are impressive enough, but this is like having one on your arm. Solid Vision Duels could happen anywhere, and I can only begin to wonder about where it could take the future of Duel Monsters.  _

_ "Interesting! I'll battle with this card!" Jonouchi places one on the Duel Disk and flings it on to the field. "Armored Lizard!"  _

_ For a moment, I pause, doing the math in my head. I think maybe I missed something, but as Kaiba orders his monster to attack, I realize it's just as I see it. Jonouchi played a weaker monster without hesitation.  _

_ Minotaur slices through the Lizard's neck, and the card is ejected from Jonouchi's Duel Disk.  _

_ "When the monster is destroyed, pull back the Duel Disk. Until you have played a monster, I'll pass my turn," Kaiba explains confidently. His gaze never wavers, and though it wasn't focused anywhere near me, I  _ still _  feel intimidated.  _

_ "Don't look down on me!" Jonouchi grumbles, drawing a new card. "Just watch! Flame Swordsman!" He places the card on Duel Disk, and back on the field it goes. "If it's about Attack Points, he's got more! Fighting Spirit Flame Sword!"  _

_ "Jonouchi, Minotaur is strong against Flame attacks!" Yuugi calls, but the attack is already in motion. Unsurprisingly, Minotaur defeats Flame Swordsman, and Jonouchi's Life Points drop again.  _

_ "I knew it. You've gotta be the worst Duelist in existence," Kaiba scoffs. "Fusion and Centaur cards." He sets us on the Duel Disk and sends it back out, and an even strong monster than before appears. A fusion of Minotaur and Centaur.  _

_ "Stop looking down at me like that!" Jonouchi growls, then sends out a new card. "Barbarian #2!"  _

_ That card started a cascade of weak monsters that Jonouchi summoned. Axe Raider, Bull Devil, Garoozis, Cavern Genie, Ogre Rock, and finally, Rude Kaiser, all defeated by Kaiba's fusion. Jonouchi slumps to his knees, looking defeated.  _

_ Kaiba chuckles. "What happened to the confidence you had before, Jonouchi? Gone  _ already _?"  _

_ Jonouchi didn't respond at first, so Anzu called, "Don't give up! Stand up, Jonouchi!"  _

_ Jonouchi grits his teeth, but stands. "I get it. I still won't give up. The battle begins now. Red Eyes Black Dragon!"  _

_ Despite the card being stronger than Kaiba's, Kaiba still had a confident expression. This one victory wasn't going to faze him. When Red-Eyes appears on the field, it attacks, destroying Kaiba's monster.  _

_ "All right!" Jonouchi cheers, mostly to himself.  _

_ "Getting excited because you succeeded getting through one turn...  _ That's _ why I said you're the worst Duelist in existence," Kaiba says almost casually, setting another monster on his Duel Disk. When he launches it into the field, he announces what it is. "Appear, Blue-Eyes!"  _

_ I hold my breath as the dragon materializes, just as excited to see it as the first time. I absolutely love it. If it meant getting to see the card played over and over, I could watch Kaiba Duel all day, just for that.  _

_ Kaiba declares the attack, and the Blue-Eyes opens its mouth, a beam of light blasting toward Red-Eyes. As it is destroyed, Jonouchi's Life Points drop to zero as he drops to his knees.  _

_ The holograms fade away, and the Duel Disks deactivate.  _

_ I probably should have felt bad for Jonouchi, but I'm really just disappointed to watch the Blue-Eyes fade from sight. _

_ Slipping a hand in his pocket, Kaiba speaks. "Did you learn your lesson after Dueling me? With your incompetence, I don't know how you made it this far. It suits you to be on your knees, like a loser dog unable to stand up after a single loss."  _

Ouch _.  _

_ "What? What do you think you know??" Anzu speaks up, her tone defiant. "You don't know why Jonouchi is fighting... Don't say anything if you know nothing of it!"  _

_ "Even the weakest Duelist on this island has a reason to fight, right?" Kaiba responds without hesitation, and his words strike a chord with me. "The most important thing is if you can protect that reason. Jonouchi, it was a huge mistake to fight me. Now you've got the eyes of a loser dog. You cannot stand up as a Duelist anymore."  _

_ "Kaiba, why are you—?" Yuugi started, but Kaiba cut him off.  _

_ "Pegasus' castle. That's where he waits. Pegasus J. Crawford. The creator of Duel Monsters; a man with a terrifying power. His mind created the rules. In his hands, all the cards were created. On this island, to get in that castle, all Duelists are collecting stars. But, that's only what the god of the card kingdoms wants us to do. Yuugi, even with your skills, defeating Pegasus is impossible. I've seen him in the past once, in a Duel."  _

_ Kaiba looks away. "No, I can't call that a Duel. "It was in the New York Duel Stadium, with the fight of the King of Duelists. I was invited as a special guest to that battle. Pegasus' opponent was America's number one card professor, Keith Howard. Because he was always pursuing big prizes in money, he was known as 'Bandit Keith.'"  _

_ I had no idea what relevance this story had, but I found myself being drawn in anyway, leaning slightly forward as I listened.  _

_ "Pegasus just looked down on Keith and wrote on a piece of paper, then called a kid that was seated behind me to play in his place. Somehow, Pegasus had known what card Keith was going to play. He used some kind of trick." As he spoke, Yuugi brought the second Duel Disk back to Kaiba, who put them away neatly in his briefcase. "I don't know if the Duel Disks will be enough to win over this trick. I'm going to Pegasus' place to defeat him, and to take back what is mine."  _

_ "Kaiba! Just like you, we have things that are precious and we don't want to lose, too," Yuugi said. "Pegasus will be defeated by me."  _

_ Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Then, I'll say it in a different way. I'm going to Pegasus' castle  _ before _  anyone else." _

—

I barely slept that night. So much had happened in the one day, I could hardly wrap my brain around it. I caught a few hours rest, but at eight in the morning, Jonouchi was up and yelling, as always. 

Even upon waking up, Kaiba's words would pop into my mind every so often. The most important thing is if you can protect that reason. It didn't matter if we thought our reasons here were important. Everyone had a reason to be here. What mattered was having the strength to get through everything else. I didn't know what part of it resonated with me, but I couldn't shake it.

That day, Jonouchi won another Duel, and he and Yuugi ended up in a tag team Duel against two more Player Killers, which they also won. We spent most of the day inside caverns, and since that last Duel got them both up to ten Star Chips, we headed up to the castle, and I was glad to see the sun. The mood among us was light and hopeful. Since we were really heading up to the castle, everyone couldn't help but have their hopes up. 

Instead of getting straight into the castle like we expected, at the top of the steps, we ran into Kaiba again. It wasn't a coincidental run-in, either. He was there to challenge Yuugi to another Duel. 

Everyone headed up to the roof, though I found myself stuck in the back of the spectator group. I could still see, though, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I watched, my perspective slowly changing over the course of the Duel. Yuugi fought for his grandfather, and Kaiba fought for his brother. Pegasus still had him.

I watched my friends cheer for Kaiba's losses. Of course I wanted Yuugi to save his grandfather, but if Yuugi lost this Duel, he could still have time to get more Star Chips, right? The tournament wasn't over. But Kaiba wasn't a part of this tournament. This was his one chance.

No matter how obvious the fact was to me, it never clicked with my friends. No, they blindly cheered for Yuugi. 

—

_ Yuugi's deck is essentially incapacitated. Kaiba played a combo that made any strong monsters in Yuugi's deck unplayable.  _

_ Yuugi had only a Griffor on the field, equipped with Horn of the Unicorn. The latter had put Yuugi in a position to defeat the last monster Kaiba had on the field, but Kaiba still seemed unfazed. Everyone knew that Kaiba had a Blue-Eyes in his hand, but it was only now that he summoned it, and it launches itself into the air, shooting a beam of light down on Griffor and blasting it off of the field. _

_ Now, with only a Giant Solider of Stone defending him, Yuugi ends his turn, and Kaiba draws his next card. _

_ "Yuugi, since the first Duel we had, I knew the pain of defeat. Now I'll let you feel that pain!" Kaiba flings his Duel Disk on to the field and three cards flip around. A Blue-Eyes card, Fusion, and another Blue-Eyes. They each light up, along with the summoned Blue-Eyes, washing out the field in a yellow light. _

_ When the colour fades, the last thing I expect is on the field. A three-headed Blue-Eyes. I suck in a sharp breath. _

_ "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba announces. "This is the strongest killing machine! The ultimate form of monster!" _

_ From the sidelines, I stare in awe. I could never have imagined this, but there is was, standing in front of me. 4500 attack points. Kaiba had this Duel won. _

_ Unsurprisingly, Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon defeats Yuugi's monster without much effort. The new turn the Duel has taken seems to have shaken Yuugi, as he struggles to draw the next card. _

_ I glance between the two sides of the field as my friends cheer Yuugi on. I don't expect Yuugi to give up, but I don't expect that he can win. I know for a fact that Yuugi can't beat Kaiba with sheer attack power at this point. If he has some kind of miracle strategy, he'd need to use it now. _

_ Yuugi draws his card, and seems surprised. _

_ "Kaiba, I just drew the ultimate card into my hand!" _

_ "What?" _

_ Yuugi places the card on to the center of the Duel Disk and flings it back out, and from it appears... Kuriboh. _

_ "Kuriboh??" Kaiba looks irritated at first, but then chuckles. "Yuugi, it's your right to forfeit the match. If you intend on using this card to make a joke out of our battle, I'll never forgive you." _

_ "Kaiba, you're wrong. This is my trump card! It will defeat Ultimate Dragon!" _

_ I furrow my eyebrows as I watch Yuugi. There weren't enough card slots on a regular game mat for all the cards Kuriboh would need to be equipped with to defeat even a single Blue-Eyes. _

_ "What did you say? Impossible." Kaiba scoffs, but Yuugi continues. _

_ "I play Multiplier! This card multiplies a monster with 500 attack points or less." Kuribohs begin appearing all over Yuugi's side of the field, until there's at least one hundred. And still, they keep multiplying. "Indeed, this monster is a low level monster, but don't look down on it. It has hidden powers that can over take the strongest of monsters!" _

_ "No, this trash in front of my Ultimate Dragon will only make more corpses! Attack!" _

_ The three Blue-Eyes heads lean together to form one burst of light aimed straight at the Kuribohs, and I truly expect Yuugi's Life Points to drop to zero right there. Instead, the Kuribohs continue multiplying to make up for the ones hit by the attack. _

_ "The moment an enemy makes contact with Kuriboh, it explodes. Your attacks won't get through," Yuugi explains. "Unless all of them are destroyed, Kuriboh will continue to multiply. In other words, unless you defeat  _ every _  Kuriboh, you will never take my Life Points to zero. But before that, I play my second trump combo. Mammoth Graveyard, Fusion, and the Arrow of Magical Effects." _

_ I stare, trying to put together what those cards could do together. I can see the premise. Arrow of Magical Effects lets Yuugi play his Magic Cards with Kaiba's monsters. But what would fusing Mammoth Graveyard with the Ultimate Dragon do? _

_ The cards appear of the field, and the Mammoth shapes into an arrow, firing at the Ultimate Dragon. Blue-Eyes cringes, and the Mammoth's head appears in its chest. _

_ "What the  _ hell _? You just...!" Kaiba doesn't finish his sentence. _

_ "Blue-Eyes is a living Light Monster. When Ultimate Dragon is fused with a Dark, Undead type monster, its body will decompose. The Attack Points of Mammoth Graveyard are at 1200, so each turn, Ultimate Dragon will lose that many Attack Points." _

_ As he speaks, Ultimate Dragon's Attack drops to 3300. _

_ I watch my friends cheer, but I can't join in. An awful feeling starts growing in my stomach, and I can't help but worry. It feels like something bad is going to happen. _

_ Kaiba glowers at Yuugi, his hands clenched in fists. "Not yet. This match is  _ not _  over yet! Attack, Ultimate Dragon!" _

_ Same as before, the burst of light is stopped by the Kuriboh. _

_ "I'll draw a card and end my turn," Yuugi states simply, doing just that. _

_ Ultimate Dragon's Life Points drop to 2100. _

_ Kaiba's expression says furious, but his eyes tell me desperate. He grits his teeth, and still approaches the same strategy. "Attack! Ultimate Burst!" _

_ The same result as before. _

_ The pit in my stomach grows heavier. _

_ Again, Yuugi skips his turn, and Ultimate Dragon's attack drops, now to 900. _

_ Kaiba's arms lower to his sides, limp, his gaze vacantly staring at the melting Dragon in front of him.  _

_ I watch, hands clenching in fists over my stomach. It looked like he wasn't seeing what we were seeing. This apparently invincible CEO looked so... broken.  _

_ As I watch, his head tilts down, so he's staring at the ground. What else can he do? He's losing his grip on his only chance to rescue his brother. _

_ Because he doesn't make a move, it's assumed he skips his turn, and Yuugi draws, reeling the Duel Disk back in to play a new card. "My turn! I'll play another card! Elf Swordsman!" Throwing the Disk back on to the field, the monster appears. "Attack Ultimate Dragon!" _

_ The sword of the Elf Swordsman slices off one of the Dragon's heads, but it remains standing. Kaiba's Life Points drop, and he still doesn't react. His expression makes my heart clench. Still, I hear my friends cheering at Yuugi's apparent victory. I begin to wonder if they're all really as kind as I thought, or if they're instead unwaveringly biased. _

_ My attention remains on Kaiba's side of the field, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. Yuugi may have been my friend, but I couldn't bring myself to root for his victory when I couldn't see justification in it. _

_ Then, Kaiba seemed to wake up. "Yuugi... The game has just started." His tone is subdued and serious, emotionless, and somehow, it terrifies me. "During the last attack, I lost five hundred Life Points. If one of these squares on the ground is equal to one hundred of my Life Points, then I will move backwards for each point I lost. Five hundred points. In other words, five squares." _

_ My heart leaps into my throat as I watch Kaiba walk backwards, nausea stirring in my stomach. I can only remain silent until Kaiba steps up on to the raised block at the edge. The words bubble past my lips. "Kaiba, stop!"  _

_ My words go unanswered, but it's the last square for him. Kaiba remains standing up there. Behind him is nothing but air. I know at the base of the part of the castle he stood at, there is nothing but a rocky cliff beneath him. One more step back, and he'd be dead. _

_ It takes every bit of my will power not to run over there and yank him down. Seeing someone stand at the edge of a cliff like that, ready to step off, is not something I'm prepared to stand and watch.  _

_ "I'm at the edge," Kaiba continues calmly, though the look in his eyes is anything but rational. "If you attack next turn, you'll be taking my real life, and I will die. I'll glady die for a Duel." _

_ "That bastard..." Jonouchi grumbles, then shouts at him, "Kaiba! That's playing cheap! Are you gonna bluff like this to keep Yuugi from going all out??" _

_ Fury grabs hold of me, and I glare at Jonouchi. "Great Jonouchi, let's assume that the man ready to kill himself is  _ bluffing _ about it." I am mere moments from telling him to pull his head out of his ass, but somehow, I rein myself back in. My blood boils. Someone that assumes a suicide attempt is a bluff before taking it seriously is  _ not _ someone I will call my friend. _

_ Kaiba doesn't respond at all. A small, empty smirk pulls at his lips, and he looks down. _

_ A long silence passes between everyone before Kaiba speaks. "Yuugi, on your next turn, your worth as a Duelist will be tested. A game is like two mirrors held against each other. How would you counter your own moves? You must place yourself into the mind of the opponent in order to obtain victory. If I was you in this Duel, I'd push myself over the edge without a moment's hesitation. But this Duel is not over yet. I'll draw a card." With eerie calmness, Kaiba draws a card from his deck, and plays it. "My card is Resurrection of the Dead. I will use this card to resurrect the killed Blue-Eyes head. _

_ Out of the melted stump of neck left over from Yuugi's last attack, and brand new, vibrant Blue-Eyes head appeared, vicious as ever. _

_ "A normal Blue-Eyes with its normal 3000 Attack Points. Because it was destroyed while it was fused, I'll have to wait another turn to attack. Now, Yuugi, it's your turn." _

_ For me, this decision seemed obvious. Yuugi  _ couldn't _ attack Kaiba. There was no question about it. So why did I still feel so sick? _

_ After a short silence, Yuugi's voice rose over the quiet. "Fine, Kaiba! Elf Swordsman, attack!" _

_ My stomach clenches, sickened, but I don't hesitate, bursting through my friends to sprint at Yuugi full speed. "Yuugi,  _ stop _! You can't kill him! Call off the attack, please!!" _

_ Realization flashes across his face, and he drops to his knees. I skid to a stop and whip around, seeing the Elf Swordsman slow to a halt in front of Ultimate Dragon. _

_ Speaking quietly, Kaiba says, "I win. Burst Stream." _

_ The Blue-Eyes head takes out Elf Swordsman, dropping Yuugi's Life Points to zero. Kaiba steps down from the ledge, and behind me, I can hear that Yuugi is crying. _

_ As I turn back to face him, our friends run over. I can't bring myself to get any closer. I'm still nauseated, and I feel ready to cry as well. I keep the tears in, though, my fingers clutching the fabric on my thighs. _

_ "I couldn't do it...! If I continued the game, Kaiba might have died! I'm scared... of this game... and of the other-..." Yuugi sputters, unable to finish his sentence. _

_ Anzu crouches in front of him, tears streaking down her face. "I'm sorry... But Yuugi, you did the right thing." _

_ "You showed weakness in the end. So I've won, Yuugi," Kaiba's voice speaks from behind us, and I turn to him. "If you had the cold-heartedness to push me of the ravine, you'd have won." _

_ "No, you're wrong!" Anzu stands, facing Kaiba with a glare. "The one who lost the game is  _ you _ , Kaiba! You bet your chip of life as if it were nothing!" _

_ "Anzu..." I protest quietly, but the brunette continues. _

_ "You lost to yourself! When you realize you would lose to Yuugi, you couldn't live anymore!" _

_ "Anzu." I lift my voice, and still, I'm ignored. _

_ "Real courage is protecting that chip in your hands no matter what. The moment you give that up, you lose! Yugi protected  _ your _  chip instead of winning!" _

_ "Anzu!" I finally shout at full volume, miraculously catching Anzu's attention.  _

_ It's all the time Kaiba needs to turn and leave, silently. He doesn't defend himself. He doesn't need anyone to understand his reasons. He just knows what he needs to do. I admire the strength it takes to do that. _

_ Everyone watches him leave, and I speak up again. "Has everyone here forgotten about Mokuba already?" I look specifically at Anzu, but receive no response. It seems I've angered everyone. I couldn't really bring myself to care. Kaiba didn't bet his life because he was going to lose a Duel. He bet his life because he was going to lose his brother. _

—

After that, everything else seemed mediocre. Mai returned with enough Star Chips for her and Yuugi both, making up for the Duel with the Player Killer. Because of what had happened with Kaiba, however, Yuugi was in no state to take them. It seemed he wasn't sure about moving forward and Dueling Pegasus anymore.

His behaviour irritated Mai, and she decided instead, she wanted Yuugi to Duel her for them. It was likely a ploy to get him back on his feet, but Yuugi still refused to respond, and Anzu decided to Duel Mai in Yuugi's place. 

Anzu wouldn't have managed on her own, but Mai surrendered under the guise of her only strategy being ruined.

The Duel had snapped Yuugi out of his trance, and he accepted the Star Chips from Anzu.

I barely paid attention to the actual Duel, though. I was still too pissed.

There wasn't much to tell after that. Now, we were walking through Pegasus' castle, upstairs, through halls, where ever we were directed. The walls were all the same sickly pastel pink, while the tile we walked on was a light blue colour. It seemed with all of Pegasus' boasting, he didn't have much taste. All I could think was "kitschy-gone-wrong."

I had decided to not say much as we wandered through the halls of Pegasus' castle. No one necessarily seemed angry with me, but I knew I'd been the only one that had disagreed about the Kaiba situation. I didn't want it to come up again yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has felt rough to me since I started this fic years ago ;_; Hey, it's not my fault the first half of Duelist Kingdom is boring as heckie.


	5. Soul Taker

As we stepped up the top step of a staircase, a marble railing came into sight. We had wound up on some kind of balcony. Bandit Keith already stood there, but I didn't pay any attention to him. My first instinct had been to look over the balcony, and on a suspended walkway down below, stood Kaiba.

I chewed on my bottom lip. He'd made it into Pegasus' castle after all. Had he already dueled Pegasus? It seemed unlikely. If he had already beat him, he'd probably have taken his little brother back and be on his way home.

"Kaiba and Pegasus' Duel."

I heard Bandit Keith's voice, and I lifted my gaze from Kaiba to look at him.

"That's right."

A voice said behind me. I turned, finding that the voice had come from a man with blueish-gray, slicked back hair, who looked like he worked as security for Pegasus. Complete with serious, opaque sunglasses, despite being inside.

"To the four contestants in the championship tournament: welcome to Pegasus castle. Though it seems that some uninvited guests have let themselves in."

I could only assume his eyes were focused on me, Anzu, Honda, and Bakura behind those sunglasses.

"I'll let it slide this time. In any case, for those ones who have survived their matches in Duelist Kingdom, to show his appreciation, Master Pegasus has prepared a special match for our guests. You will all simply participate as observers."

"He just wants to show us how strong he is..." Mai said, though she didn't seem much concerned.

"Well now, that may be the case indeed."

"He's looking down on us," Jonouchi added, with less finesse.

"Well then, take your time and enjoy watching this special match." The security guy ignored Jonouchi's comment and turned, walking away.

I hesitated, beginning to chew on my thumbnail as I looked back at Kaiba. Pegasus set this up specifically so we would all be watching. What was he going to do? Pegasus couldn't have arranged Kaiba's arrival, since he had his own reasons to be there, but the stage? The fact that we were watching? The idea that Pegasus wanted us to see this Duel twisted my stomach into a knot. He wanted us to see _something_.

Perfectly timed, the door across from Kaiba swung open, and Pegasus strolled out as casually as ever, flanked by two security guys.

"Welcome! Welcome to my castle once again, Kaiba-boy! I have been waiting for the day where I could battle a proud Duelist such as yourself right here in my Duelist Kingdom."

Ugh.

"Don't you worry one bit, Kaiba-boy. Simply defeat me in this Duel, and I'll return Mokuba-boy to you! Now, let's enjoy a great Duel!"

heard Jonouchi's voice a ways to my left. "I'd really like Kaiba and Pegasus to both lose, but if Pegasus loses, we won't be able to enter into the championship finals."

That statement on its own made my blood boil, but Honda added on top of it.

"Yeah, so let's hope to see Kaiba as the loser dog this time."

My fingers gripped the railing so tightly that my knuckles grew white; my jaw clenched so I couldn't speak. I didn't know why Jonouchi thought that Pegasus losing would null the whole tournament, but he and Honda were so blinded by their own biases that they would condemn both Kaiba _and_ Mokuba.

I wanted to be angry with everyone, Anzu and Yuugi included, but they hadn't said anything. While that was bad enough on its own, it was Honda and Jonouchi I was angry with. I wouldn't be forgetting all of this any time soon. If I was braver, perhaps I'd say something, but for now, I swallowed the furious words that gathered in my throat, focusing on the scene below us again. I felt nauseated, but lashing out wouldn't help that.

Pegasus continued looking up to where we stood, "It seems that the four official finalists have gathered in my castle."

Kaiba followed Pegasus' gaze, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Yuugi, you found a way into the castle?" The surprise faded, replaced with his usual indifference. "I expected no less from you."

"Now, let's begin our Duel, Kaiba boy."

Without a moment's hesitation, Kaiba pulled one of the Duel Disks from his briefcase and flung it at Pegasus. "I'll be fighting you with these Duel Disks.”

Pegasus began looking it over, essentially playing with it. "It is supposed to be used as a fan? But it _is_ a bit heavy for that. Or maybe you roll it around like this?"

He turned around and rolled it on its side back down the suspended walkway, his security guys chasing after it.

What an ass.

"Stop screwing around!" Kaiba glowered at Pegasus, who remained unwavered.

"Then we can, if you want. I'll allow the use of the Duel Disks. However, I'll have someone operate it in my place."

"What?"

"Of course, he will be following the memo I hand him for the cards he chooses. It will not change the fact that I am your opponent." In English, he added, "Understand?"

I frowned. It sounded just like the story Kaiba had told us about Pegasus' Duel with Bandit Keith.

"Pegasus, you bastard. Fight me one-on-one!"

Remaining unfazed, Pegasus spoke to one of his security guys. "Bring out the person who will operate the Duel Disk for me."

Only a few moments passed, and the door Pegasus had entered from swung open again, this time, revealing a scuffed and dirty Mokuba being led by a chain hooked to a cuff around his wrist.

My heart dropped.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba called to him automatically, but he received no response. Mokuba's eyes looked empty, glazed over, like those of a dead fish. "Mokuba...?"

As  one the security personnel led Mokuba forward, the boy seemed in a trance of some kind. His blank gaze stayed locked on the ground, his gait too smooth to be natural.

"What's the matter, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus spoke. "Aren't you glad to have Mokuba-boy as your opponent?"

"Pegasus..." Kaiba growled, and even from the balcony, I could see he was shaking with anger.

Pegasus pulled out a Duel Monsters card. "Mokuba-boy's soul has been sealed in this card." He lifted the card, and on it was Mokuba's image, trapped inside. "The Mokuba-boy in front of you is merely a soulless shell. But, he will respond to simple orders I give him. Kaiba-boy, if you win, I will release his soul from the sealed card."

The situation had been bad enough before, but now, it was dire. Mokuba's soul had been taken, and there really would be no second chances for Kaiba to get him back.

I felt sick to my stomach all over again. Why was Pegasus doing all of this? He really couldn't find ways to get what he wanted without tearing people apart?

"Now, you will operate the Duel Disk for me, Mokuba-boy." Pegasus turned to him, and the security guy holding the Disk offered it to Mokuba.

The boy took it without question, and without understanding, his hold on it was anything but reliable.

"W-wait!" Kaiba shouted, his tone urgent.

"Huh? What's the _matter_ , Kaiba-boy? Like you wanted, we'll be using the Duel Disks in our Duel!"

Kaiba's expression looked pained. Staring at the ground, he said something lost in the distance between him and the balcony, then straightened up, composing himself. "I understand, Pegasus. I'll take back using the Duel Disks."

Pegasus ordered Mokuba to be taken away, and the boy walked out of the room, Duel Disk still in his hands. "Then, let's prepare to Duel."

Just like that, the walkway Pegasus and Kaiba stood on split, being reeled back to either end of the room. If that wasn't odd enough on its own, I heard machinery above me, and when I looked up, a Duel Ring was descending from the ceiling, and continued to do so until it settled in the space between Kaiba and Pegasus.

"We will play by the 'Kingdom Rules.' If that's okay with you, then please prepare your Deck."

As Kaiba pulled his deck from a pocket inside his coat, Yuugi called out, "Kaiba, watch out for Pegasus' Dragon-Type Sealing Jar!"

Kaiba paused and looked up at him. "Dragon-Type Sealing Jar?"

"Even Blue-Eyes White Dragon will be useless against it! Choose your cards carefully, Kaiba!"

Jonouchi scowled at Yuugi. "Hey, why are you giving Kaiba advice??"

"Because Kaiba is fighting to get back Mokuba! He can't lose no matter what!"

I breathed a sigh of relief in the following moments of silence. At least I knew Yuugi had his head on straight. He recognized what was really important here. I wasn't alone in rooting for Kaiba.

"Yuugi, I'll take your words into consideration. But I trust my cards," Kaiba responded, turning back to the Duel Ring, putting his deck down.

Pegasus chuckled condescendingly. "Foolish... Wasting others' advice."

"No matter who the opponent, I will fight alongside my Blue-Eyes," Kaiba insisted, his words confident. "And I'll defeat you!"

The two drew their cards.

"Well then, I'll take my turn first," Pegasus said. "A monster in defense mode. Also, I will set another card. Turn over."

Kaiba drew his card. An eerie silence fell over the room; There wouldn’t be any going back now.

"I set one card face-down. Also, Rude Kaiser in Attack Mode. Attack the defense monster!"

Pegasus let out a dramatic, "Oh no!" as his monster was destroyed.

"Turn over," Kaiba concluded, unconvinced by Pegasus' charade.

Actually, no one was convinced by Pegasus' charade. He could act all he wanted, but it was obvious that no one was buying it. He'd have to try harder.

"Kaiba-boy's monster has 1800 Attack Points, eh?" Pegasus drew his next card. "Wow, this card might work! Parrot Dragon, attack!"

The creature appeared on the field, exceeding the Attack Points of Kaiba's monster by 200. When Parrot Dragon went to attack, Kaiba acted.

"Then I will activate a Counter-Magic card. The card I had set is Hypnotism. This card reduces the Attack of your monster by 800 points."

The imbalance of Attack Points allowed Rude Kaiser to counter attack, and again, Pegasus reacted dramatically.

My eyebrows furrowed. Pegasus didn't seem to be taking this seriously. He was making a joke out of it all. Perhaps he knew no one would believe his behavior. Was he setting this all up for something?

"My turn." Kaiba drew his card, and paused to ponder his options. He didn't take long, but as he went to play his card, before even announcing that he was, Pegasus spoke.

"Stop!"

It made Kaiba pause.

"Stay there, don't move. Don't show me that card. I am going to activate a Trap Card against the card you're about to play. The card I played face-down was the Prophecy card. This card's effect allows me to guess the Attack Points of a monster in your hand. So I guess if it's 'big' or 'small.' If I guess right, that card becomes mine. And I predict that it has more than 2000 Attack Points, big!"

Kaiba grit his teeth.

"But that is not enough to prove this," Pegasus continued. "I'll predict further details. That card has 3000 Attack Points, and it is your most trusted card, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Without a word, Kaiba angrily placed the card on the Duel Ring, where it was delivered to Pegasus.

I didn't understand. All of these stories about Pegasus knowing too much about the Duelist he was up against, and now, right in front of me, he'd known the exact card Kaiba was about to play. Impossible, wasn't it? I didn't know anymore. Somehow, this man had ripped two souls from their bodies. It had become plainly obvious that Pegasus had some power beyond that of incredible deduction.

"Now, let's continue with our Duel, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, his air of casualness still present.

"I'll just switch Rude Kaiser to Defense Mode and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn. I'll play a set card. Also, I'll play a monster in Defense Mode. And with that, my turn is over."

Unsurprising that Pegasus didn't play the Blue-Eyes. He was hoarding it for something. I worried about that set card, though. Every card that Pegasus had played so far, I hadn't recognized. Leave it to the creator of the game to hoard some of the rarest cards for himself. I'd call it cheating, but he'd created the rules of the game himself, as well. Cheating, maybe not, but there was no question that it was unfair.

"My turn." Kaiba drew his card, and set one card face-down, and summoned Saggi the Dark Clown.

I recognized that card from before. Did Kaiba plan to use it for the same reason? In his Duel with Yuugi, he'd used that card as a lure for Yuugi to attack so he could use his Virus card. It'd nearly won the Duel for him. It could easily do the same here.

"Then I'll activate my face-down Magic card!" Pegasus announced gleefully. "Dark Energy! This card doubles the Attack Points of all Dark Attribute monsters in play."

Saggi's Attack rose to 1200. Kaiba's Virus card only worked with monsters below 1000 Attack. Pegasus had known just what to do.

I resumed chewing on my thumbnail as Pegasus took his turn. How could anyone beat an opponent that knew your every move before you had a chance to make it? It wasn’t possible...

"I place Dark Rabbit in Attack Mode. Because it is a Dark Attribute, its Attack doubles!" Pegasus said as Dark Rabbit's Attack rose to 2200. "Attack Saggi the Dark Clown!"

In a comical display, the Dark Rabbit pummeled the Dark Clown, and Kaiba's Life Points fell to 1000.

Kaiba took his turn. "I play another card in Defense Mode. Turn over." His words were spoken with conviction, but less confidence that before. This was wearing on him.

"Then it's my turn." Pegasus drew his card, then grinned to himself, his gaze lifting to Kaiba. "Say, Kaiba-boy, do you like cartoons?"

Kaiba remained silent.

"Is that so? It seems you don't. What a pity. But I _love_  them! As a boy, I used to watch 'Funny Rabbit' all the time! All those great characters running on the TV were the _best_! During those days, they were like my best friends. To this day, they still run around in the little garden in my heart."

And... What was this about?

"So what??" Kaiba finally spoke.

"They will never betray me."

"What are you getting at?"

"And they can never die. I'll invite you to their world! My card is Toon World."

The image that appeared from the card was like a storybook, a little cartoon town rising above its pages.

Another card I had never heard of before. From the chatter among everyone else, it seemed I wasn't the only one.

"Oi, when that card was played, Dark Rabbit disappeared." Honda spoke.

He was right. The Dark Rabbit wasn't on the field anymore. Did it require a sacrifice?

"Where did your Dark Rabbit go?" Kaiba spoke all our thoughts.

"Now all my cards have become Toon cards. They now live here. If you can't see them, they must be hiding somewhere in Toon World." A green glow lit up around the book. "See, he's about to show himself. Dark Rabbit, attack!"

Dark Rabbit leapt out of Toon World in a burst of pink smoke, and destroyed Kaiba's face-down monster before leaping back inside the book, which closed, hiding the town.

"Dark Rabbit has gone back to hiding in the picture book. I forgot to tell you. Once Toon World is closed, no monsters are able to lay any damage to them."

I had almost chewed my thumbnail down to the bed, so I switched to my pointer finger. Pegasus essentially had an indestructible fortress for his monsters to hide in.

"My turn." Kaiba's tone had turned almost glum. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"It seems to be my turn. Let me show you something interesting." He held up the Blue-Eyes card from his hand. I had nearly forgotten he'd had it. "This is the Blue-Eyes White Dragon I got from you. I'll play this card in Attack Mode."

As the Blue-Eyes appeared on the field, Toon World opened its pages, a pink smoke descending onto the dragon, then sucking it into the book. In a tornado of the same pink smoke, out popped a smaller cartoon Blue-Eyes, looking like a little mischievous devil.

"Ugh!" I huffed out loud. This was _ridiculous_. What kind of card made caricatures out of everything it touched?? And to a Blue-Eyes, no less.

"All of my monsters have become residents of Toon World. What do you think?" Pegasus taunted. "Isn't it more lovable than before?"

As much as I hated to admit it... It was kind of cute.

"Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, attack Rude Kaiser!"

Blowing up like a balloon as it inhaled, the Toon Dragon exhaled a purple burst of light, shattering Rude Kaiser's image.

"What's this? I feel anger in your heart." Pegasus continued to taunt.

His tone caused my foot to begin tapping in aggravation, but Kaiba somehow remained composed.

"Pegasus, it seems you already know what cards are in my hand. If that's the case, I'll abandon my entire hand." Kaiba put the cards in a neat stack and set them face-down in front of him. "I'm going to play directly from my deck."

"That Kaiba bastard's pretty much given up to resort to this," Honda commented, and my foot tapped louder.

"No, I can kind of understand what Kaiba means," Jonouchi said. "He's betting everything on the card he'll draw."

Even if Jonouchi was great at pissing me off, I could see he was capable of thinking every once and a while. I was still mad at him, but at least someone spoke against Honda. I wished it would have been me, but I still felt that I was in enough hot water with everyone as it was.

Drawing directly from his deck, Kaiba slapped the card on the field, and out of _anything_  that it could have been, a Blue-Eyes White Dragon rose onto the field.

"Yes," I cheered in a whisper. Kaiba was turning this around. It seemed a little bleak, but he could still win this.

"Wonderful," Pegasus began clapping, still overly confident. "Kaiba-boy, to draw another Blue-Eyes... You're truly a lucky boy, aren't you?"

"Changing my proud monster into that _disgusting_  thing...! I'll never forgive you, Pegasus!"

"Ohhh nooo." Still, Pegasus had that irritating grin on his face.

"Blue-Eyes, attack! Burst Stream!"

The light burst from Blue-Eyes' mouth towards the Toon Dragon, but at the last moment, the Toon Dragon bent unnaturally out of the way, it's body forming nto a perfect 'C' to evade the shot.

My hand—the one I wasn't chewing the nails off of—curled into a fist. Damn. So close to getting that thing off the field.

"Funny Rabbit aired a total of 583 episodes on TV," Pegasus began, "in all of which the bad guy fired a total of 26,000 bullets at the good guy. And not a single one ever hit Funny Rabbit. It's a miracle!"

Kaiba glared at Pegasus until he explained.

"As long as Toon World remains on my board, every card I play will become a Toon Card. Toons are the perfect form of being!”

So Kaiba couldn't attack them straight on? That couldn't be right. These Toons seemed to grow more invincible by the turn.

"Yuugi, do you know anything about the Toon Cards?" Mai asked, drawing my attention to the conversation.

"Yeah, but those cards aren't sold to the public. There's only one of each in the world. Original cards meant for Pegasus."

"Sounds like borderline cheating to me..." I mumbled, though Anzu heard and nodded in agreement. I hated this. I just wanted to see Kaiba win.

"Well then, it's my turn." Pegasus announced from below. "I play this card! Shine Palace!"

In a blinding burst of light from Toon World, the book opened up, revealing a white castle in place of the dark town.

"A new page in Toon World. A Light-Attribute monster receives this and powers up by 500 points! My Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon will receive the light's energy and power up!"

As Toon Dragon's attack rose, the creature flexed dramatically, and little volcanoes erupted from its biceps. The whole 'toon' thing was going a little far now.

"Toon Dragon, attack!"

At the last moment, Kaiba acted. "Magic Card activate! Attack Nullification!"

Toon Dragon's attack fizzled out, and I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

"My turn." Kaiba drew his card, and played it straight to the field. "My card is Spell of Darkness!"

Chains shot out toward Toon Dragon from several directions and locked it in place.

"Spell of Darkness stops the enemy from moving and decreases their Attack by 700 points!"

Toon Dragon's Attack dropped to 2800, putting Blue-Eyes in a position to take it down.

"Even your Toon can't move once bound. Burst Stream!"

This time, there was no escaping for the Toon dragon, and the light shattered it. Pegasus Life Points dropped by 200.

"Thank you, Kaiba-boy. Right now, I felt love for your Blue-Eyes in your heart. As the Duel Monsters creator, I feel complimented. But that love for your Blue-Eyes will be the trigger of your defeat. The card I play is the Dragon-Type Sealing Jar."

_Dammit_. Of all the times for Pegasus to draw that card! Kaiba was in a position to win!

The Jar appeared on the field, and a red-ish smoke reached out to Blue-Eyes before violently dragging it back, sucking it into the Jar. "All Dragon-types will be sealed. The Jar gains the Defense Points of the dragon it absorbs."

Kaiba drew his card, and put it in Defense Mode, turning it back to Pegasus.

"I place this card face-down, and summon the Jar Genie in Defense Mode."

In a brash move, Kaiba switches his defense monster into attack. "Swordstalker, turn that Jar Genie into pieces!"

"I activate the Magic Card Copy Cat. It can copy any card you've played on the board. I'm going to copy the Virus card, and infect Jar Genie with the virus!"

As Swordstalker defeated Jar Genie, the virus burst from it, destroying Swordstalker.

"The Virus has destroyed every monster in your deck over 1500 Attack Points! You deck is made up almost entirely of over-powered monsters with brute strength."

Kaiba's deck was in shambles. He searched through it for a card to play, and came up with one. "Resurrection of the Dead. I use this card to revive Saggi the Dark Clown."

"I praise your ability to play out this game to the very end. My attack! Devil Box!"

A new monster sprang from Toon World and wiped out Saggi the Dark Clown. It didn't matter what other cards had been in Kaiba's deck now. They were all unplayable, and he'd lost.

"You have no cards left in your deck," Pegasus spoke the obvious. "Therefore, you lose. Kaiba boy. I presume you are aware of what it means to lose a game? The loser loses _everything_. What is precious to them, and even themselves."

A familiar pit grew in my stomach as I watch Pegasus reach into his coat.

"You shall suffer the same fate as Mokuba-boy!" The item he pulls out of his coat is a blank Duel Monsters card, similar to the one Mokuba's soul had been trapped in. "Mind Card!"

Light burst from Pegasus, and it grew brighter and brighter until I had to cover my eyes with my arm to block it out. Then, all at once, it vanished.

I glanced around, then down at the Duel Ring. Kaiba still stood there, but he was... different. His expression matched that of Mokuba's earlier, and he made no movements.

"Remove that corpse from my presence." Pegasus instructed, his tone bored. Two security guards approached Kaiba and dragged him away.

I folded an arm over my stomach as I watched, my legs growing weak. Three souls, now. Pegasus had taken three souls. If Yuugi made it past the finals to Duel Pegasus, what would happen if he didn't win? And what did Pegasus plan to do with the souls he'd already taken?

There were too many questions, and right now, I didn't have an answer for any of them.


	6. Crevice into the Different Dimension

After Pegasus exited the room, and before I could get a grip on what had happened, we were ushered out and herded to a huge dining room. The table could easily fit all of us, and barely could be seen under all the food on top of it. 

Jonouchi and Honda dove for their seats so they could dig in while everyone else walked. I could hear my stomach rumbling, and hoped no one else could. It had been a long day, and we hadn't eaten since the night before. But, it felt odd to have to act like nothing had just happened. I wanted to put it out of my head like everyone else. It didn't feel right to be acting so casual like this.

I ended up at the very end of the table, sitting by Bakura. That was fine. I didn't feel like being anywhere near the middle. Now I could mope with minimal chances of anyone talking to me.

"Please enjoy yourselves and prepare for the tournament tomorrow," the main security man from before said from the head of the table, having to speak over the sounds of Honda and Jonouchi scarfing down their food. "We have prepared you all a special meal in celebration. Now, I have something I must address with you all. You will all be required to have one of these cards you received in your invitation during the final tournament tomorrow." He held up the cards, and I recognized them from when Yuugi was showing us all the cards in the invitation. "The ones holding Glory of the King's Hand can seize the cash prize. Those wielding Glory of the King's Opposite Hand may challenge Master Pegasus directly for his title." He paused for just a moment before continuing. "One more thing. Please look down at the soup we have prepared for you."

I blinked, and looked at the bowl in front of me. Nothing seemed out of place. Glancing at Bakura's, it seemed just as plain.

From a few people down, I heard a gasp from Yuugi and looked over. There was a golden eye floating in his soup.

"You asshole! Ya think we're gonna eat this??" Jonouchi yelled, standing from his seat.

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. The table was covered in food, but he was worried about his soup, specifically? 

Looking down the table, I noticed that only those in the tournament had the eye things in their soup.

"Please look inside them," the security guy said calmly, ignoring Jonouchi's words.

The four finalists plucked the eye from their soup and popped them open. I couldn't entirely see from the end, but there was a little piece of paper inside.

"We shall now begin selecting the tournament match-ups." As the security guy spoke, a projector screen lowered from the ceiling behind him. An image appeared, a tournament bracket. At the bottom, letters popped up in order. A, B, C, D.  A versus B, C versus D.

Jonouchi shouted, "Who's got 'C'??"

Bandit Keith spoke, "I do."

" _You??_ I couldn't ask for a better opponent!"

The security man spoke again. "The results have been decided. The first match will be Master Yuugi Mutou versus Lady Mai Kujaku, followed by Master Bandit Keith versus Master Katsuya Jonouchi. Now then, we sincerely hope you enjoy your meal." With a bow, he exited the room, and the projector screen was sucked back up into the ceiling.

Most everyone chattered while we ate, but I kept to myself. I couldn't feel so optimistic after seeing firsthand what Pegasus could do. I was starting to really wish I'd taken Makoto up on the offer to hang out. I could have stayed home and spent some time with my old friends.

I felt guilty for having the thought. I could try and help these friends while I was here. Wishing I'd stayed home was selfish. 

When we were led to the rooms we'd all be staying in, I couldn't be anything but grateful. I was one of the first to break off of the group and disappear into my room, thankful I didn't have to share with anyone. 

Heaving a sigh, I dropped my backpack by the foot of the bed and walked to the window. The view was incredible, overlooking the forest on the island before breaking off to the ocean. Too bad I wouldn't get to tell my parents about this. I’d rather them continue thinking I spent the weekend at Anzu’s.

I remembered something then. I'd packed my old instant camera. I hadn't been using it as much as I should have been.

I returned to my backpack and dug it out, opening its fabric case and taking it out. I wasn't much one for photography, but I liked the instant camera. If anyone tried to give me a digital camera, I'd never use it. Even cheap film cameras weren't my thing. I could never be bothered to go get pictures developed, or upload ones from a digital camera to my laptop. From my phone, I could directly post any where I wanted, and with the instant camera, I didn't have to print anything. 

Walking back to the window, I lifted the camera and peered through the viewfinder, snapping the picture, bars from the window in view and all. I didn't know that it'd make the most impressive picture, but I'd rather it be a memory than optimally aesthetically pleasing.

The camera spat out the picture, and I grabbed it by the bottom, fanning it in the air a few times as I headed back to my backpack. The camera case had a little slot specifically for the pictures, so I slipped it in there before putting the camera away.

Giving a sigh, I flopped backward onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. Would I even be able to sleep tonight? I'd been kept awake the night before as well, so I needed some good rest, but I couldn't help it if my mind wouldn't shut down. I'd end up going back home looking like I'd not slept at all. That wouldn't make my mom too happy.

There were too many questions, though. What gave Pegasus the power to rip people's souls from their bodies? I'd believed Yuugi when he told my about his grandpa, but seeing it happen right in front of me to Kaiba? After seeing how it'd affected Mokuba? It scared me. That could happen to any of us. How did Pegasus do it? Was it something he learned, or something he was granted? Then, what made him think he had the right to steal people away from themselves like that? Why was someone so obviously cruel given this power, when all he did was misuse it? Maybe there wasn't a way to _not_  misuse that kind of a power.

Mid-thought, there was a knock on my door. I wanted to ignore it, pretend I was asleep, but what else was I going to do? Mope? That's what. It _was_  tempting...

"Just a second," I called. Standing from my bed, I walked to the door and opened it. Honda and Bakura were there. 

My eyebrows furrowed. "Everything alright, guys?"

"We want to tell you and Anzu about something. You have a moment?" Honda asked.

I frowned, confused, but nodded. "Sure." Closing my door behind me, I followed them to Anzu’s room. They'd already knocked on her door, apparently, because we walked right in.

Anzu sat on her bed, looking a bit confused as well, but when she saw me, she patted the spot beside her, offering me to sit there.

"Thanks." I walked over and sat beside her as Honda and Bakura sat on the couch across from us. "So, what's this about?"

Again, it was Honda that spoke. "I think Kaiba lost because Pegasus cheated."

My eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yeah. If you think about all the times Pegasus messed with us up until now, there's a high possibility."

"That's true." Anzu nodded.

"We want to find out for sure. He _is_ our enemy, after all. It wouldn't surprise me if he's tweaked the situation to his advantage. If that's the case, Yuugi and the others were bound to lose from the start. Do we really want to allow that?"

"Well, if that _is_ true, of course I won't stand for it," Anzu agreed, her expression concerned.

I nodded in agreement. I couldn't help but notice that, though Honda was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, determined expression and all, Bakura looked nervous. 

"What can we do about it, though? If that is true." I set my hands in my lap. "We can't exactly go to Pegasus and confront him about it."

"No, so let's go find the proof we need to stop him!" Honda sat up straight, scowling. "Everyone should fight this match fair-and-square. We can't bother Yuugi and Jonouchi the night before the tournament. We've gotta do this on our own. Let's be of some use."

"You're right!" Anzu nodded.

Bakura made a sound of discomfort.

"If we're going to be careful, then okay. Let's do it," I agreed. After all that had happened, this really didn't seem like much.

"The first place we have to check is the Duel Ring," Honda explained, standing. "That'd be the most likely place to find a lead."

I stood as well. "I'm going to run back to my room and grab my sweatshirt. I'll be right back." I turned away from the group and hurried back to my room. I didn't know if these friends were bad influences, or precariously good influences, but if I could find evidence that Pegasus had cheated to beat Kaiba, I was all for any solid plan.

When I slipped my arms into my sweatshirt sleeves, I caught sight of my camera and decided to grab it, putting in the sweatshirt pocket. I didn't know that I'd need it, but maybe I'd want it.

When I rejoined the group, we headed back to the Duel Ring. I followed Anzu up to the balcony where we had watched the Duel while Bakura and Honda each took a side of the Duel Ring.

My eyes wandered the room, looking for cameras, or places where cameras could be hidden. Anzu gave up much quicker.

"There's _nothing_  here," She called down to Honda. "Maybe Pegasus honestly beat Kaiba..."

"I highly doubt that." Honda went back to searching. "Whenever I'm forced into trials I'm bound to lose, I always become cunning."

I raised an eyebrow, and Anzu responded, "Uhm, really..."

As Honda went back to searching, a beam of light appeared on his back, and my eyes widened. I lifted a hand to pat Anzu's arm to get her attention. "Hey, Anzu, look at that."

I pointed to Honda, and Anzu looked there. "Oh!"

Honda paused what he was doing, looking up at us. "Did you find something?"

I nodded toward the wall there the light was coming from. "It looks like there's a hole in the wall or something. There's a light."

Honda turned, and I spoke to Anzu again. "Let's head down there and see what we can do."

Anzu nodded, and the two of us joined Honda at the Duel Ring. By the time we got there, Bakura was there too.

"Honda, can you stand on that platform?" Anzu asked, turning to Honda as she pointed to the Duel Ring.

"Huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah, like Kaiba was. As if you're Dueling."

"Right..." Honda stepped over there, and when he held his hand up as if he was holding cards, the light shone right where those cards would be.

"He really could have been cheating..." I murmured, looking back to the hole in the wall.

Honda turned and began approaching the wall. "I'm climbing up there to see what I can find."

"Be careful," Anzu said, and everyone hung back to watch Honda climb.

It seemed to be taking a while, so I started looking around. The vacant Duel Ring felt lonely, even more so in light of the Duel that had occurred on it that day. I had never seen a Duel Ring from this angle, either. It was almost like a stage. I kind of liked the feeling that gave.

Glancing back up at Honda to make sure I didn't need to be paying attention yet, I pulled my camera from my pocket, removing it from its case and pointing it at the Duel Ring. I made sure the flash was off, and snapped the picture.

Anzu gave me an odd look, but I shrugged, taking the photo once it printed out and fanned it in the air a couple times before putting it away. "I have a photography friend. I feel like he'd be mad if I didn't take some pictures with a perfect photo op like this."

Of course Makoto wouldn't get mad, but I did want to show him these pictures. I actually wanted to tell him the whole story. It would be nice to have an outside opinion.

"Ah, I see a tower!" Honda spoke, recapturing my attention. "It's possible that he had someone holding a camera, viewing the Duel Ring from there! It'd be easy for someone to spy from the window from there, and tell Pegasus all of the enemy's cards!"

Anzu nodded. "And with a camera view of that, he could completely reveal the opponent's strategy."

"There's gotta be a secret room in that tower," Honda continued as he began climbing back down. "Let's head over there!"

Bakura gasped. "Eh?? We're going _that_  far??"

Honda hopped down in front of us. "Just relax and follow me!"

I waited just an extra moment as everyone ran off to take a picture of the light streaming through the wall in the middle of the wall art, then hurried off after my friends, putting the camera and the photo away. I chased after them all the way there, though we'd paused in one of the corridors for Honda to snag a grappling hook from the wall. This was becoming a bit too criminal for my tastes, but I followed after everyone anyway. This lead could really let us expose Pegasus for cheating.

We followed hallways until we found a way to get up on the parapet walk behind the tower, and from there, to the thin ledge around the roof. We couldn't even attempt the front door; two security guys stood guard there, so the roof it was.

Honda went first, and Anzu followed, then Bakura, and I brought up the rear. I kept glancing behind us as we sidled along the ledge, and I kept my eyes up. My heart was about to beat through my rib cage, and I didn't want to make it worse by seeing how far above the ground we were.

Everything seemed to be going fine, until halfway there, Anzu misstepped, one of her feet slipping off the ledge. I yelped at the same time she did, but Bakura and Honda managed to each grip one of her arms and pull her back up onto the ledge, covering her mouth. We waited a few moments in silence, then Anzu pushed the boys' hands away. "Hey! Try pulling me up _before_ covering my mouth!"

"Let's hurry," Honda responded simply, continuing on.

"Jeez!"

I let out a heavy sigh, then followed after everyone as we continued forward. This really was a bad idea, but going back meant going the same distance as returning. No reason not to go forward.

When we reached the side of the roof with the window, Honda used the grapple hook, somehow hooking it on the ledge above us on the first try.

"Alright, Anzu, you climb up first. That way, one of us can catch you if you slip by accident."

Anzu's face lit up in an embarrassed blush. "Eh?? No way!"

Both Bakura and Honda asked, "Why?"

"Jeez, don't you _get_ it?" Anzu tugged her skirt down in the front, and I sighed. I loved skirts and dresses as much as the next girl, but this was why I preferred pants on a day to day basis. 

"Oh!" Bakura got it then, and Honda still looked clueless. Bakura graciously turned to whisper it to Honda.

Anzu continued, "It's obvious the _men_  should go first."

"That won't do!" Honda insisted. "We can't climb unless someone's here to save you!"

"Then what are we going to do??"

Oh, to hell with it... "How about I go right after you, Anzu?" I suggested. "You'll still be in front, but they’ll be behind me. Is that alright?"

She looked to me, thinking about it for a moment, but nodded, scowling back at Honda and Bakura. "As long as you two aren't trying to get a view around Mara. Keep your eyes up!"

"Alright, alright," Honda agreed impatiently. "Let's just go already."

Anzu started climbing first, and I inched around Bakura to follow. I'd never done anything like this, really, but I was determined. I wouldn't hold everyone back.

When I reached the top, I turned around to look at the view we had of the castle. It didn't seem so scary from up there.

One more time, I took my camera out and took a picture of the castle and courtyard, repeating the process from before. Then I returned it to its case, waiting until Honda and Bakura had reached the top before pushing the window inside open. 

"Alright, let's go..." I murmured, mostly to myself as I hopped inside, followed by Anzu. I was pretty sure this would be considered breaking and entering, but, we weren't _really_  breaking anything.

For a while, we all searched different areas of the room. I kicked aside a couple rugs, and checked the wall mouldings for easy to miss details. No one found anything.

"Honda, there's nothing up here," Anzu sighed, though Honda scowled. 

"There's no way!"

"What's this?" Bakura asked, and I paused what I was doing to look at him. He was looking up at a painting on the wall, so I headed over at the same time Anzu and Honda did.

"Just a big portrait," I commented.

"It's too dark to see much." Right after Anzu spoke those words, the lights flicked on and everyone turned around.

"Who's there??" Honda demanded.

"Does someone know we're up here?" I whispered, listening intently for footsteps. I didn't hear any.

"She's really pretty, but I wonder who she is..." Anzu murmured, and I glanced back at her to see her looking at the portrait.

"Oh, the same one was in the dining room, I think," I responded, and Bakura nodded in agreement.

"Maybe she's related to Pegasus somehow."

And there were those footsteps I had been listening for. 

As we all turned around, we saw Pegasus stepping on to the top step. "It seems you have seen right through me," he spoke calmly.

I wasn't sure I was convinced. If we'd really been busted, wouldn't he have sent up his security guards? Why'd he come here himself? It was terrifying to be stuck here with him with no one else around.

"Then that'll make this go faster!" Honda took the bait. "Pegasus, we know you've been cheating! There's no use trying to cover it up!"

Pegasus gave a quiet chuckle. "There's no need for me to cover anything up. And that is because I am about to drag you four into another world entirely."

My heart dropped, and I automatically took a step back. This was so bad. We didn't have anywhere to run. We were backed into a courner.

"Allow me to show you all the world I refer to." He pulled back the hair that had constantly covered his one eye, and I was shocked to see a golden wadjet eye protruding from the socket instead, like the ones that had been in the tournament contestants' soup.

A flash of light shone from it, and the room turned dark, the purples and blues swirling together for a moment. I began to feel nauseated, but before anything more could be done, the floor turned to liquid beneath us. I only had time to let out a gasp, hands reaching for anything to grab onto, but finding nothing, and I fell into complete blackness.

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself lying on the ground. Not the same ground I'd been standing on, but a tan, stone hallway.

I pushed myself to sit up, seeing that my friends were doing the same. 

"Where are we...?" Honda groaned as he pushed himself up, and Anzu followed up with another question.

"What's that voice?"

I hadn't noticed at first, but there was something like chanting echoing through the halls. My eyes wandered, taking in the images on the walls. It was like something you'd see in Egyptian documentaries on TV. Hieroglyphs and images of deities. My mother would know who all of these were, but I could only pick out the most obvious ones. 

This was _really_  bad.

"Let's check it out." Honda decided.

"But..."

"There's no point in just sitting here!" Honda completely cut off Bakura as he stood.

I didn't really want to follow the voices either, but I agreed with Honda. What else would we do? Sit around and hope someone would save us?

As we followed Honda down the hall, I patted Bakura's arm reassuringly. I didn't have anything to say, and I couldn't tell him that we were going to be fine, but I hoped the small gesture would at least make him feel better.

The hall had no place to turn, no other corridors. It continued straight on until it opened up to a large room, where men cloaked in matching brown robes lined each side of the room, left and right. They were the ones chanting. In the middle, two men in the same robes faced each other about twenty feet apart.

"What is this...?" Bakura whispered.

"Some kind of... ritual...?" I suggested, my arms folding nervously over my stomach. All of my instincts told me to get out of there, but where could we go? That hall could be endless for all we knew. We must have been here for a reason. Pegasus had sent us here, so it was no coincidence, though that wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

In the following silence, one of the men in the middle held up his hand, and a stone tablet rose from the floor, the resulting rumble shaking the room. A few moments later, the other man did the same. Then, they both held one hand out in front of them, and the tablets spun to face each other. The man on the right spoke.

"You lose."

The tablet on the left shattered, and without warning, the man behind it erupted in green fire, crumpling to the ground as he screamed in pain.

Eyes widening, I lifted a hand to cover my mouth, shocked and sickened, but Anzu's shriek, though relatively quiet, was loud enough to catch the attention of everyone in the room. 

In just a few moments, all but the man that won the battle approached the hallway. They didn't come too close, however, and the man still standing in the middle began to remove his hood. It was Pegasus.

Though shocked, everyone remained silent at first. No one knew what to say. After what we'd just witnessed, it was hard to speak. Honda managed first though, yelling at Pegasus, "Just _what_  were you doing??"

"A Dark Game."

The word immediately brought back a memory. That Duel with the giant Bakura and the giant Yuugi. It'd been a dream though, hadn't it? It had felt real, but it _had_  been a dream, right?

"Dark Game? What's that?" Anzu quizzed.

"An ancient ritual played long ago where one's very being is put to the test. The _ultimate_  game. Only those chosen are able to see it within the Dark World." That golden eye of his started to glow. What was he doing? "It seems you've all taken an interest in this eye of mine."

I'd almost forgotten that he could read minds.

"The Millennium Eye's power allows me to read other's minds using the Mind Scan. So long as I hold this power, I am untouchable. This is the dark power give only to the chosen ones! Would you like me to read _your_ mind as well?" He pointed at Bakura. The whitenette looked rightfully concerned, but Pegasus expression turned surprised. "What? I can't read it!"

With an uncharacteristic chuckle, Bakura spoke in an entirely different voice, "I've found it."

I immediately took a step away from him, and at the same time, golden light burst from him and Pegasus' eye. I covered my eyes and squeezed them shut, tensing in preparation of whatever was going to happen.

Instead of something violent, or shocking, like I expected, the room grew eerily quiet. I opened my eyes, and I wasn't in that chamber anymore. I was back in my room, sprawled out on my bed. 

Confused, I sat up, looking around to confirm that's where I was. Could that really have been a dream? It felt so real... there was no way. I'd never gone to sleep. I knew it.

Slipping out of my sweatshirt, the pocket clunked heavily against my head. Right, my camera!

I finished getting out of the sweatshirt and pulled the camera case from my pocket, and reached into the photo pocket. The pictures were there. That was proof enough for me. It wasn't a dream.

What did that mean, though? We'd found no proof of Pegasus cheating. In fact, if anything, we found proof that he had incredible powers. That 'Millennium Eye' of his gave him a ability to read minds, and transcend dimensions and time, maybe. It seemed impossible, but I'd lived through it. Though I didn't have any pictures of the corridor or chamber, that 'Dark Game,' but if everything else happened, I had no doubt that did too. 

What now? Everyone else likely would assume it had been a dream as well. I didn't know if I should bring it up to them or not. 

Whatever I was going to decide on, for now, I was going to sleep. Too much had happened, and I couldn't figure it all out on my own. For now, I was back in the castle, hopefully safe.Maybe I'd get answers in the morning. 

It took at least an hour to wind my brain down, but soon after, I gratefully sunk into sleep.


	7. The Inexperienced Spy

"Hey, it's finally starting." 

I glanced at Honda when he spoke, then looked to the Duel Ring. Yuugi and Pegasus approached either end, preparing to Duel. 

The last Duels had been of little interest to me. Yuugi Dueled Mai and won, Jonouchi Duel Bandit Keith and won, then Yuugi and Jonouchi Dueled, and Yuugi won. This was the Duel everyone had been waiting for. 

"Yeah, I can almost see their fighting spirits clashing from all the way up here," Jonouchi responded to Honda. 

"We finally made it this far!" Anzu chirped. 

"It's a little scary," I murmured.

Bakura nodded in agreement. "Will Yuugi be alright? The odds of winning against an opponent who can use the power of the Millennium Eye to read his mind..." 

"You dumbass! Yuugi won't lose!" Jonouchi insisted, though I frowned at him. What a harsh thing to call a friend! "He'll be the _real_ king of this island. He'll kick that Pegasus bastard's ass!" 

"That's right! Right, Honda?" Anzu asked, hoping for his immediate agreement. Honda looked skeptical. 

"I just brightened the mood!" Jonouchi huffed. "What's with the depressing attitude, Honda??" 

"But just think about it. This battle can't be called fair. He's taken those three hostages to lure Yuugi this far, after all." 

I nodded, chipping in, "He's been shamelessly toying with Yuugi the whole time." 

"But didn't Pegasus capture Yuugi's grandpa's soul just for this Duel?" Anzu asked, albeit defensively. 

"Pegasus is a Duelist himself. Even _he_ wouldn't do anything that low," Jonouchi spoke, then turned to Honda. "Besides, _you're_  the one most worried here." 

"Their Duel is about to begin!" Anzu beamed. "Hey, let's go to the upper balcony so we can see better!" 

"Yeah, good idea." 

The two walked away, and from beside me, Bakura spoke. "Jonouchi and Anzu aren't worried at all... But you may be right, Honda. Pegasus isn't to be underestimated. If the Duel gets dangerous for him, there's no telling what measures he'll take." 

Without responding, Honda started to run off. 

I called after him, "Hey, where are you going?" 

He paused and looked back to respond. "I can't do anything about his grandfather's soul, but if I can at least get Mokuba and Kaiba, Yuugi may stand a better chance!" He started running off again. 

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, I'm coming too!" I ran after him, leaving Bakura behind me. I had no idea where we were going, but Honda seemed to know better than me. I did my best to keep pace with him, but he was damn tall, and could run fast. 

Thankfully, when we got into an area that looked sufficiently off limits, he slowed down, allowing me to walk alongside him. 

"This sure seems like a dungeon to me..." I murmured. 

"This castle's huge. It could take forever to find Kaiba or Mokuba down here," he grumbled. 

Before I could respond, around the courner at the end of the hall, a shadow of a person appeared, along with echoing footsteps. 

"Hide, hide!" Honda whispered harshly, and I nearly stumbled over myself  as i looked around. The only option I had was to run back to the last courner we'd rounded and press against the wall, hoping whoever it was wouldn't come this far. I took one chance to check to see where Honda hid himself, but I couldn't find him. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

The owner of the shadow rounded the courner, and I ducked back around the wall, holding my breath as I focused on the footsteps. They didn't come too near, but the guy spoke. 

"Time to change shifts. How's the kid doing?" 

I bit my lip. Was 'the kid' Mokuba?

Another voice joined in. "Same as usual. We shouldn't have to worry about him escaping, but don't let your guard down." 

"Of course. He's the only one who knows the location of that key, after all." 

The sound of footsteps followed, then silence. 

I peered around the courner cautiously, and instead of seeing a security guy, or Honda, I saw the metal armour that had been standing as a decoration moving on its own. "Ah!" I yelped, covering my mouth as I stepped back and tripped over my own feet, falling backwards on to my rear. 

A "Shush, Mara!" came from the armour. 

"Honda??" I whispered, uncurling to push myself up off the ground, dusting off my pants as I walked toward him. "Damn, don't scare me like that! How'd you even get in there in time??" 

"Don't ask." He went to the hall where the guards had been. "Thought so. He's gone." 

"Mm?" I joined him. "How could he be gone? Where is there to go?" 

What I'd thought was a hall turned out to be more of an alcove. It went in about fifteen feet. The only significant feature was a dragon statue on the wall. 

Honda took a few steps forward to investigate, but instead tripped on a misplaced tile, his momentum thrown forward. Somehow, he caught on to the dragon's head before he fell all the way. 

"Ha, klutz," I laughed quietly. Then, the dragon's head shifted down, and the wall to our right rumbled, a panel lifting to reveal a staircase. 

"Well..." I tip-toed to the new path and stared down into the darkness. I couldn't see a thing, but I glanced back at Honda. "I guess we should go. If this is where the security guy went, we ought to check it out." 

Honda picked himself back up and nodded. "With how they tried to hide this, there's gotta be something down there." 

I let him lead the way down the stairs, and when we reached the base, waited as he peeked around the courner. 

"What do you see?" I whispered. 

"That guy sitting at a table. Looks like a jail cell or something behind him. I can't see if anyone's inside, though." 

"If they're guarding it, it's probably Kaiba or Mokuba!" My heart started racing. Maybe we could actually save them! 

"Awright, I'm going in." Honda grabbed a helmet of a nearby suit of armour and tip-toed toward the guard. 

"Honda!" I hissed, but ducked back behind the courner. He was going to get us caught, no doubt.

I heard a loud clang and flinched, but peered around the courner. The guard was now knocked out, the spare helmet on his head. 

"That was nothing!" Honda nodded decisively, waving me over. 

Shaking my head, I walked toward him. "Not exactly graceful, but you did it. Good job." When I reach his side, I zeroed in on the jail cell, my heart leaping into my throat. A sallow-looking Mokuba sat on the bed, staring emotionlessly at the ground. I gasped. 

"Honda, it's Mokuba! We found Mokuba! Check the guard for a key!" 

Honda nodded quickly, and checked the guard's pockets. "Here." He hurried to the cell and pushed a key card into the slot. The lights on the console flashed, and the lock popped open. "Yes!" Honda started inside, and I raised an eyebrow. 

"Ah, Honda?" 

"Huh?" 

"Probably should take off the armour now, yeah?" 

"Oh, yeah, probably." He took a few moments to get out of the armour, then lifted Mokuba onto his back piggyback style. "Alright, let's go!" 

We ran back to the stairs, and hurried up them, heading back the way we came. 

"They're probably on to us, you know," I panted as we ran, and Honda nodded. 

"I know. We just have to keep running for now." 

That's what we did. We ran away from any sounds we heard, but one security guy cut us off, making us stop. Before we could even turn around, another security guy was there too. 

"Honda, what do we do??" I gasped, looking back and forth between the guards. 

"That's far enough," one spoke. "You've got nowhere left to run." 

A familiar feeling came over me, as if the air was shimmering. Along with it, a chiming sound. 

Everyone paused, confused, and after a moment, I saw Bakura enter from a hallway from behind one of the guards. 

"Bakura!" I gasped, relieved. I didn't know how much help he could be, but the guards were outnumbered now. 

"What are you doing here??" Honda demanded, though he got no response. 

"You bastard!" The guard behind us yelled. "If you don't obey us, you're a dead man!" 

I turned to see the guy reaching into his coat, and my heart dropped. Did he have some kind of weapon? 

"Isn't this interesting?" Bakura spoke, uncharacteristically calm for a situation like this. "If I don't obey you, what will you do?" 

Each security guy pulled out a gun, and I tensed, shrinking toward the wall. 

"In that case, my weapon is _this_. Magical Bonds." Bakura held up the card, cause a flash of light that washed out the room for a moment. When I could see again, the guards were retrained in semi-opaque vines. 

As they squirmed, I looked to Bakura. "How did you...?" 

"These guys..." Honda tried to finish my thought. 

"Now, let's take this chance and escape." Bakura turned to run, and Honda followed. I didn't hesitate for a moment, chasing after them. 

"Honda, they had guns!" I gasped once we were a decent distance from them. "This is really, really bad! They could kill us!" 

"Yeah, but what else are we going to do now?? If we leave Mokuba somewhere, it won't make a difference!" 

"I'm not saying we should do that!" 

"Then what _are_  you saying??" 

"I don't know!!" 

"Enough," Bakura hissed. "If you two keep yelling, you'll draw unnecessary attention to us." 

I fell silent. I didn't want to be the reason we got caught. I'd never been in a situation like this, though. Having guns waved around, and being chased like a criminal. I didn't know this would lead to anything like this. 

We found ourselves in what felt like an endless stairwell, but every door we tried was locked. We kept climbing staircase after staircase, and when we reached the top, the open door that led outside was a sheer drop to the forest. 

"There's no where left to go, now..." Honda grumbled. 

"Found them! Up there!" 

I turned to the source of the voice, and instead of seeing one or two people, there were a lot more. A whole group of security guards had tracked them down. 

Honda repositioned himself, pushing me behind him. "Damn... All these guards!" 

"To give up hope so easily! That's not like you, Honda," Bakura spoke with a bit too much confidence. 

"You have some sort of plan?" 

Instead of responding, Bakura pulled another card from his pocket. "Man-Eater Bug." In another blinding flash of light, the monster appeared from the card, but for real. 

I let out a gasp and backed up, pressing my back to the wall. There weren't any Duel systems around, and that _thing_ was actually attacking the security guards! I had to turn my gaze away as the Man-Eater Bug leapt on the guards, nausea turning in my stomach. 

The room went eerily quiet, and I dared to look back down the stairs. The guards weren't there anymore. I didn't know what happened to them, but I didn't think I wanted to, either. All I knew was this Bakura standing in front on me wasn't Bakura from school. 

"I remember..." Honda murmured, catching Bakura's attention. "It wasn't a dream. You're not Bakura. You're the other Bakura from deep within Bakura." 

My eyebrows lifted. So it wasn’t just a strange dream I’d had. That Duel had really happened, then, and I wasn’t the only one who remembered it.

"Tch. I feel so _honored_ that you remember me. I'm an ancient soul resting deep within one of the Millennium Items, the Millennium Ring. Now hand over Mokuba." 

"Like I'd hand him to you!" 

"What could you want him for?" I somehow gained the courage to speak up, though I flinched when his gaze turned to me. 

"All I require is the key to the contracts for Kaiba Corporation that Mokuba has cleverly hidden away." Bakura looked back to Honda then. "If you're a good boy and hand me Mokuba, I'll turn everything back to normal. There was a short pause, then Honda lowered his head. 

"Ah, I get it. I'll hand this brat over to you." 

"Honda, no!" I gasped. What was he _doing_? 

Honda pulled Mokuba off his back and began to hand him to Bakura, then yelled, "Here, catch!" He tossed Mokuba to Bakura, which made me yelp in concern. 

Bakura caught him however, and Honda snagged the opportunity, rushing toward Bakura and knocking him out, catching Mokuba in the process. 

I  took a deep breath. "I swear to God, Honda, hanging around you is going to give me a heart attack..." I sighed heavily, resting my hands on either side of my head. 

"Here, can you hold Mokuba for a second?" He held the boy out to me, and I nodded. 

"Yeah?" I turned to Honda could hoist Mokuba onto my back, hooking my arms under his legs, then watched Honda take the Millennium Ring from Bakura and dash up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, I readjusted Mokuba on my back so I had a better grip, and waited. 

When Honda returned, he was sans the Millennium Ring. 

"What'd you do?" 

"I tossed it," he spoke matter-of-factly. "You think you can hold on to Mokuba? It'd be easier if I didn't have to carry both of them." 

"Yeah, I got him. If we're running though, I don't think I can do that." 

Honda grimaced. "I think the other Bakura handled that for us. There shouldn't be anyone for us to run from." 

I frowned, but nodded. "...Where do you think those guards went...?" 

Honda shook his head as he slung Bakura over his shoulder. "I don't know. Nowhere good." 

That seemed to be the only answer we had for it. We headed back the way we came, weaving through the castle halls. Eventually, the stone walls were replaced with the sickly pink wallpaper, and eventually, we got our bearings. We headed up to where we knew Jonouchi and Anzu would be. It meant climbing more stairs, but even with all the running before, I managed. 

"Hey!" Honda greeted loudly when we reached the top, and Jonouchi and Anzu looked over. Anzu's eyebrows rose. 

"Honda, Mara, where have you been??" 

"You wouldn't believe it. We had an adventure and a half today," Honda sighed as he set Bakura down, leaning him against the railing. I followed suit with Mokuba. 

"What's wrong with Bakura?" 

"It's alright. He's just unconscious." He looked up at them. "That evil spirit took over Bakura again. He wanted Mokuba for some reason." 

"It sounded like he was after Kaiba Corporation too. Which is weird," I mumbled, remaining on the ground to give my legs a rest. I looked down toward the Duel Ring, and my eyes widened. "Whoa, what's going on here?" 

Instead of a Duel Ring, I could only see a huge swirling mass of blue, purple, and black clouds. 

"We don't know," Anzu murmured. 

"We should check it out," Honda said, looking to Bakura and Mokuba. "They should be alright here for now." 

"You guys go ahead." I waved them on. "I'll stay here. I'd rather not leave them alone. Just yell up at me if you need me." 

"Are you sure?" Anzu cocked her head, and I nodded. 

"Completely. Go ahead." 

With that, the three of them ran past me and down the hall. 

A long time passed. I didn't know how long. An hour, maybe? But no sign of Yuugi. Anzu and everyone were still down by the clouds, and Bakura and Mokuba were still unconscious. 

"How long can this go on?" I grumbled to myself. "You'd think someone would've gone through all their cards by now, or something..." I complained as if someone were listening, but I was still alone. I looked back at the Duel Ring, and my eyes widened. The clouds were fading. I shot to my feet, searching for information. The Life Point counters came into view. Yuugi still had 100, and Pegasus was at zero. 

"Yes!" I bounced in place. Yuugi won! 

I heard an incoherent mumble to my right, and I looked down. Bakura stirred before opening his eyes. I hesitated. If Honda threw away the Millennium Ring, this should be the classmate Bakura, so I knelt down. "Bakura...?" 

He squinted up at me, as if the lights surprised him. "Mara? What's going on?" 

"We're in the Duel Arena. Yuugi just won a few seconds ago!" 

The male blinked innocently, then turned to see for himself. 

I stood back up and called down to my friends. "Hey guys, Bakura woke up!" As I spoke, Bakura stood. 

They all looked up at us, and Honda called back, "Did you return to normal?" 

"Eh? What do you mean?" Bakura frowned. 

"Do you really not remember? That weird ring of yours took control of you again." 

Before that subject could continue, Anzu called up to us, "Can one of you stay and watch Mokuba for us?" 

"Sure." I agreed immediately, though Bakura seemed reluctant. 

"Eh... sure, but..." 

"Thanks!" Yuugi waved, and the four of them ran off. 

I sat back on the ground, settled in for a wait. I didn't know how long it'd be, but I didn't want to leave Mokuba. Honestly, though Honda tossed the Millennium Ring, I wasn't sure about Bakura. The Millennium Ring was a magic object. It didn't exactly seem trustworthy. 

I looked up at the male. "Well, don't need to stand there. Might as well get comfortable." 

There was an odd, out of place silence, then Bakura turned and walked away. 

"Eh? Bakura, where are you going??" 

He ignored me and continued down the hall, out of sight. 

A shiver ran down my spine as I stared after him. Could that have been...? "No, Honda got rid of the Ring. That's that," I spoke out loud, hoping to convince myself. I gave a sigh, and slumped back against the railing, but as I did, Mokuba stirred, and I sat up straight again. 

"Mokuba?" 

Silence. 

"Mokuba, can you hear me?" Nothing. 

I rolled my eyes at myself. I was just getting jumpy, that was all. 

I sat in silence for a long time, but eventually, Bakura came back. I tensed, and spoke cautiously. "Hey, Bakura? You feeling alright?" 

He paused and looked at me. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" It sure sounded like the regular Bakura. 

"I dunno, forget I said anything." 

As if saving me from the situation, Mokuba stirred again, and his eyes slowly opened. 

I shifted so I could check on him, and he looked up at me, a bit unfocused and confused, but lucid. 

"Mara...?" 

I smiled, glad he remembered me. I'd done my best to comfort him when we'd been with him before, but I didn't think I'd made an impact anyway. 

"Mmhmm. How do you feel?" 

It seemed like he was still waking up a little, and before he could respond, everyone else returned. 

"Hey, guys, Mokuba's awake." 

"Thank goodness," Anzu sighed, and Yuugi stepped forward. 

"Mokuba, the seal has been removed." 

"Where's my big brother?" Mokuba finally spoke. "Where is he?" 

I wanted to frown. We couldn't find him. But I knew he was here, and if Mokuba was awake, then he was too. "Here's here somewhere, Mokuba. We'll find him." 

"Croquet," I heard Yuugi speak, and looked up at him, following his gaze behind me. The main security guy was standing there. 

"Master Pegasus has been sent away to a hospital." He stepped toward Yuugi, holding a box out to him. "Take this. A card called Bonds of Friendship. Master Pegasus told me to give this to you." As Yuugi took the card, he continued. "You guys did well in your duels. This is the prize money." He pulled an envelope from his coat and held it out to Yuugi. Yuugi didn't take it, instead looking up to Jonouchi, who nodded and took the envelope instead. "Now, please excuse me." With that, Croquet turned and walked away. 

I spoke first. "We should get to looking for Kaiba. He's got to be looking for Mokuba right now." As I stood, I helped Mokuba to his feet. 

We wandered the halls at first before heading outside, trailing behind Mokuba. The boy called out for Kaiba the entire time. There was no sign of him. 

As we wandered through the courtyard, the large door at the other end shuddered before rumbling open, and on the other side was Kaiba. Mokuba didn't make a sound at first, instead breaking into a run and barreling straight into Kaiba, hugging him tightly as he sobbed. It was so good to see the brothers together. Through this whole weekend, they'd only ever been apart. We had seen Mokuba searching for Kaiba, and Kaiba searching for Mokuba, but it wasn't until now that they'd been reunited. 

Once they'd had their reunion, Kaiba turned his attention to Yuugi. "Yuugi, you saved Mokuba. I owe you one." 

"It's nothing." Yuugi responded quietly. 

"But Yuugi, don't forget that our Duel is not over yet." 

"I know." 

"I'm looking forward to Dueling you again." With that, he and Mokuba turned to walk away. 

A few moments later, Jonouchi spoke. "Come to this of it, how are we going to get off this island?" 

"Wait, nothing's arranged for us??" I gasped, eyes wide. 

"...Hold on a minute, Kaiba!" Jonouchi yelled, he and Honda running after him. "Don't leave us here!" 

Yuugi joined in, scrambling after them. I checked to make sure Anzu was following, and we ran after Yuugi, chasing down Kaiba. It took a vote from Mokuba, but Kaiba decided to lend us a ride back in the helicopter. Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Yuugi, and Bakura all squished into the back bench, and I found room for myself on the floor. 

From the front, Mokuba looked back at us, grinning, and said, "You guys better thank Nii-sama for letting you come!" 

Kaiba turned to glare at us then. "When we get back to Japan, we're even, got it?" 

I had to smile at the change in attitude everyone seemed to have. Everything was back to normal. We were going home, and I'd be able to put all this behind me. 

While we were flying, I decided to take few pictures with my instant camera. I got some of my friends, and the view, and even snuck one in of Kaiba and Mokuba in the front. The best pictures I got had to have been of the city as the flew overhead. I never thought I'd see the city from that angle, and it looked entirely different. Amazing. 

Kaiba landed the helicopter on the helipad atop the Kaiba Corp building, and of course, I had to snag some pictures from there. After that, though, I parted from my friends, making my way back home. 

Being back in the familiar city made me feel like everything really was back to normal. The sun had already started its descent below the horizon, and I was glad. I could go home, make up a story of how my weekend at Anzu's house went for my parents, then go to sleep. I could definitely go for a good night's rest.


	8. Fortune's Future

Returning to school the next day, I made sure to gather up the pictures I'd taken, putting them in a secure pocket inside my bag. They weren't nearly as good as Makoto's pictures, and I didn't try to live up to that, but I wanted to show him all of what I'd seen. Maybe hear how he would have taken them. Really, it was more of a reason for me to tell him about everything. I wanted to recount the weekend to someone who'd listen, but hadn't been there. That would be Makoto.

When I walked into the entranceway of the school and started to change into my indoor shoes, by pure luck, Makoto walked in.

"Hey, Makoto!" I called, and when he looked my way, I waved him over. As he approached me, I asked, "So, how'd the boardwalk go?"

He shrugged, though he was grinning, as it always seemed he was. "It was fine. I mean, it could have been fun, but everyone acted bored the whole time. I guess no one wanted to be there."

"Aww."

"Hey, it's no big deal. Me and Critias spent like an hour at the arcade, and I managed to win one of those grabby claw games. I got some cutesy Duel Monsters plushie out of it, and my little brother loved it, so I can't say it was a total loss."

I had to laugh out loud at that. "Oh my gosh. Do you know what Duel Monster it was?"

"I dunno, someone told me it was a Fairy-Type? I don't know, I don't play. But it was cute, and Naoto likes cute things, so I gave it to him."

"What a good big brother," I chuckled, finishing up with my shoes and standing up straight.

"I try. How about your weekend? Couldn't possibly have been as exciting as mine, right?"

"Ahh, the sarcasm rears its ugly head again."

He shrugged his shoulders, grinning in a way that said 'can't help it.'

"Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. It's a... really long story, so... I don't know, are you free after school today? And more importantly, if you are, are you willing to listen to my mind dump for an hour?"

Makoto looked surprised, but he nodded. "Yeah, that's fine with me. We could go get a coffee at that place down the street, if you want."

"Okay. You payin'?"

He laughed. "Well, it was my idea, so sure."

"Oh, no, I was joking."

"I know. But from the way you're talking about how your weekend went, I think you could use it."

Ahh, and this was why most every girl in our year, myself included, ended up with a crush on Makoto Tanaka at some point.

"Thanks, Makoto,"

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"Mooching free coffee off of?"

"Exactly."

"I should give up trying to out-sarcasm you," I sighed, shaking my head in faux-disappointment. "So, want to meet here after class, then?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be here."

"Great, see you in class then!" I picked my bag up off the ground and headed up to the classroom.

I had told Makoto about a few things I'd learned from my mom in the past. Thankfully, he had a weird little sister that liked occult things, as well as metaphysical things—though at her age, I doubted she knew the word. If I ever brought it up, he listened, and if I asked if it was weird, he'd say he'd "heard stranger from Sumiko." I didn't think he'd have heard anything stranger than what had happened this weekend, but at least I knew he'd have an open mind to it. That's why I was going to him with it in the first place.

I sat through class reluctantly, spending more time staring at the walls than paying attention. I caught up with Yuugi and Anzu at lunch. Yuugi said his grandpa was going to be discharged from the hospital that afternoon, and they were all going to meet him there and hang out with him for the afternoon. Naturally, I was invited, but I turned him down with my sincerest of apologies. I already had plans, though, and I wasn't going to push Makoto aside again, especially not when I'd invited him.

Yuugi understood, thankfully, and I promised I'd visit Gramps soon. It would be good to see him after all the Duelist Kingdom crap, anyway.

The last few lessons of the day slowed to a crawl, and I tapped my heel against the ground quietly through all of it. I knew it was all in my head, and if I focused on the lessons, time would go faster, but I couldn't. My thoughts were all on the weekend, and telling Makoto about it.

When the shrill sound of the bell finally echoed into the classroom, I gave an audible sigh of relief. I only remained in the classroom long enough to ask Yuugi to say ‘hi’ to his grandfather for me. After that, I hurried out the door and down to the entrance way. Unsurprisingly, Makoto had beaten me there, already waiting beside my locker. He caught sight of me and waved, but I could see he was in a conversation, so I just waved back and let him continue, taking the time to switch back to my outdoor shoes.

I finished just as Makoto wrapped up the conversation, and he turned his attention to me. "So, off to the coffee shop?"

I raised an eyebrow. "That almost rhymed, so please, never say that again."

His smile held back a chuckle. "Right, right. So... just, to the coffee shop?"

"Better. And yeah, let's go."

We headed out of the school and into the warm spring air. It was into May, and the weather had started to show it. I didn't shiver when heading to the bus stop in the morning, and by the afternoon, it became warm enough to have to take off the blazer of the school uniform. In fact, I'd probably need to do that pretty quick there.

I really loved any season, but late spring was my favourite. Warm, but before the mugginess of summer. Early fall could be nice for the same reason, though.

"So, you said earlier that you're not really into Duel Monsters, but did you hear about the Duelist Kingdom tournament that happened this last weekend?" I decided to start of small, since I didn't know where exactly the conversation would go.

"Mmm, I heard someone mention something like that, but that's about it." He looked down at me.

"Okay. So, it was on an island off the coast of America. California. That's where I was this weekend."

Makoto's eyebrows lifted. "You're kidding. You were in America?"

"I mean, kinda. It was an island off the coast of America, so it wasn't really America."

"Sounds pretty America to me."

I laughed. "Technically, yeah, I was in America. But it was for a Duel Monsters tournament I didn't even participate in, so I didn't get to go anywhere."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "So, you didn't participate, but you were in a tournament big enough that it carted people to America?"

"Ah... Yeah. Like I said, it's a really, really long story. I guess I'll start from the very beginning...?"

My eyes flitted to Makoto's face for a moment, and, knowing I wanted to be sure he wouldn't object, he nodded. I took a deep breath.

"So, this year, I met Yuugi, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda. I'm sure you've seen me talking to them at school. Yuugi's the one with the crazy red and black hair. So, he beat Seto Kaiba, like, Kaiba Corporation Seto Kaiba, in a Duel, which is a whole other story entirely, and I guess that got the attention of the creator of Duel Monsters. Because Kaiba's a national champion and all. So... Well, to be honest, this is where it gets weird. Really weird."

Again, I paused to gauge Makoto's reaction. He nodded again and added, "Go ahead."

I chewed on the inside of my lip. How to say this without sounding like I'd lost my mind?   
"Okay, well... How about this... Scattered around the world, there are these things called the Millennium Items. I... don't really know much about them, except that Yuugi has one, our other classmate Bakura had one, and Pegasus has one. Or, rather, had one. Apparently someone stole it, which... Well, I'll explain why it's weird later. So, these things are ancient Egyptian artifacts, and have some pretty crazy powers. Not like granting-you-the-ability-to-fly powers, but more like... taking people's souls powers..."

"Souls?"

I nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but... Somehow, Pegasus took Yuugi's grandfather's soul, and whether you believe that or not, he definitely did something, because it left him in a coma."  
Makoto lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Well, you did say that it got crazy..."

I peered up at him. "You don't believe me, do you?"

He frowned. "Mmm, I don't have a reason not to, but... it's something that will take a bit to wrap my brain around. I've never heard of anything like that."

"Me neither." I shook my head with a sigh. "Those Millennium Items though, they're really... something else. I mean... I'm not sure I can tell you about all of it, but... I don't know, I saw some really, really crazy stuff."

"Nothing... dangerous, right?"

I looked up at him to see that he was watching me with concern. "I... don't know. Not all of it seemed dangerous. Mostly just the one Yuugi has doesn't seem that way. But the other two are gone now. There are more out there, but they could be anywhere."

He took a moment to think, his eyebrows knitted together. "If they're dangerous, though, maybe you should avoid all of that. You don't want to get mixed up in something that could screw you up, you know?"

"No, I know, but... Have I ever told you about the dragon I used to dream about when I was a little kid?"

His expression turned confused, likely from the change of subject, but he went with it. "No?"

"Well, for as long as I can remember, there's been this dragon that I've dreamed about. It happened much more often when I was little. Not so much now." As I spoke, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "It was white, kinda tinged light blue, with deep blue eyes. Clawed feet and hands, huge, beautiful wings, a long neck, and a sleek, aerodynamic head."

"Sounds kind of scary."

I shook my head. "She's not though. Or, it’s not. I always felt the dragon was female, but I dunno, that might have been my little kid mind at work. Anyway, the first day that I met Yuugi, I went with him and Anzu and them to his grandfather's game shop. He had this card." I show Makoto my phone, where I'd pulled up a screenshot I'd taken of the Blue-Eyes card.

"It looks just like what you described."

"Mmhmm. It was really weird when I first saw it."

"So, maybe you saw this card as a kid, and it stuck with you?"

Again, I shook my head. "The card didn't exist that long ago. My dad suggested that the creator of Duel Monsters had to have gotten inspiration for the card somewhere, and that's likely where I feel the connection from."

"Connection?"

I grimaced. Right. I needed to explain that too. "It's like... I don't know, I know this dragon. She's-... It’s been with me my whole life. And when I saw that card, I felt drawn to it, and I can't explain entirely how. It was more than just recognizing it."   
I look back up at him. "That's just it though. I need to figure it out. And... there's been a lot that's happened, but I feel like I might find my answers by sticking around Yuugi. Especially since he knows Kaiba, and Kaiba has all of the existing Blue-Eyes cards."

Makoto didn't look like he agreed. "It really sounds dangerous, though, Mara. If those Millennium things are really as powerful as you said, you should try to stay away from them."

"But I don't really care about those. I don't care if me trying to learn about this dragon takes me as far away from those as possible, but-"

"But what if it doesn't?"

My eyebrows rose. "Huh?"

"What if they're more aligned than you think?"

"I... I haven't considered that."

A short silence fell between us as I thought it over, and it lasted long enough for us to reach the coffee shop. As I pulled the door open, I glanced back at him. "I don't know, Makoto. I don't think that the fact that it might be dangerous is enough to deter me from it."

His frown returned as he followed me inside. "What if it is dangerous, though? If you knew for a fact that it was dangerous, would you continue with it?"

I didn't even have to think about it; I nodded. "Yes. I need my answers."

Makoto nodded in understanding, but didn't respond as we approached the counter to order.

Thankfully, the coffee shop was rather empty.

I told him what I wanted, thanked him as he paid for it, and we waiting in silence until we got our drinks. It wasn't until I'd led the way to a table in the back courner that the conversation continued.

As Makoto sat across from me, he folded his arms on the table. "I don't know, Mara. As long as you're this dedicated to it, I guess there's no way I can really convince you otherwise. And I'm guessing there's no point in telling you to be careful. But, if you ever need help or anything, or even just for me to listen, or whatever, you can always call me or something, okay? I don't know how much I can do, but we're friends. Even if you chose a much more exciting Duel Monsters tournament over hanging out with me." He chuckled, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks, Makoto. I'll remember that. Oh, and I took some pictures for you." I pulled my bag on to the table and dig into it, pulling out my camera case. "They won't be as great as anything you take, but I thought you'd like to see all the cool picture you could have taken. I felt like you'd be disappointed if I didn't take the opportunities for you."

"Naturally."

I laughed, handing him the stack of Polaroids. "Just look at 'em, you goof."

Looking at the one on top, which would have been the one I'd taken from the window in my room, his eyebrows rose. "Wow. That was the island you were at?"

"Mmhmm. Beautiful, right?"

"Definitely. You were high up though; where'd you take this from?"

"The finals took place in a castle on the peak of the hill. That's from the room I got to stay in."

"Jeez, like you were a special guest or something."

"If it weren't for the fact that I was in the same building as someone who could take souls, yeah, that's how it would have felt."

He looked up at me. "So... I'm asking more for perspective than anything, but what made you believe that someone could do that? The creator of Duel Monsters, no less."

My gaze lowers to the table. "I wasn't sure at first, when Yuugi first told me, but like you said to me, I had no reason not to believe him. Once we got in the castle though, I was completely convinced. Pegasus had kidnapped Kaiba's younger brother for... It was some convoluted business scheme that I'm still not sure I understand, but that's why Kaiba was there. We watched Kaiba Duel Pegasus to get his brother back, but he lost. Right there in front of me, Pegasus took Kaiba's soul."

Makoto's eyebrows pulled together, and he leaned forward a bit. "Wait, like you saw it happen?"

"Yeah. The Millennium Item that Pegasus had was the Millennium Eye and... it was literally in his left eye socket, in place of his other eye. That's why I don't understand how it could have been stolen. But he used that, and it got really bright. I couldn't even see for a second. When I could, Kaiba was just standing there, expression totally blank. His eyes were like... I don't know, like the eyes of a dead fish. Pegasus had security guys drag him off. Literally. He had to be dragged away."

"I... I'm sorry, you have to understand that's really hard to believe..."

"No, no, I know. I really do. Looking back at it feels like my mind is trying to lie to me, but I know I was there, and that happened. But whether you believe the soul thing or not, Pegasus definitely did something to Kaiba. And Mokuba, too. Kaiba's little brother. He was the same way. Honda and I found him locked up in a little cell and got him out of there, but he was barely conscious the whole time. Didn't say a thing. Just had a vacant expression, and those dead fish eyes." I shivered, and automatically reached for my coffee. "I can't explain it all, but there's not denying that something happened."

Makoto nodded. "I believe you on that. Pegasus, though, you said his Millennium Eye was stolen?"

"Supposedly. He had to be carted off to the hospital. Guess you can't have something ripped from your eye socket without major consequences..." I mumbled, staring at the table.

"So he can't do whatever it was he did anymore."

"No. The Millennium Item was definitely to blame for that."

"Well, that's some good news, at least."

I nodded, hearing the movement of the Polaroids as Makoto moved on to the next picture. It would have been the vacant Duel Ring.

"Kinda... creepy."

"Mmhmm. I thought that night was a dream, but those pictures are the proof I have that it wasn't." When I looked up at Makoto, his expression was incredulous, and despite my mood, I had to laugh. "Okay, okay, I guess that sounded pretty cryptic."

"Yeah, just a little."

"I'll explain! It was the night before the finals, and right after Kaiba's Duel with Pegasus. So we'd seen the soul thing. Pegasus did another thing with the Millennium Eye where he could read minds. That's how he beat Kaiba in the first place. Anyway-"

"Wait, you can't just casually mention mind reading."

"Well, at first, we didn't know if that's really what it was. There was no other explanation though. I'm still iffy on that one, but that's why I have that and the next few pictures. Honda and Bakura knocked on my door, saying they wanted to talk to me and Anzu about something, so I followed them to Anzu's room. They thought that Pegasus cheated somehow, either with hidden cameras or something. That picture and the next three are from that night. We searched the Duel Ring, and if you look at the next picture, we found that hole in the wall."

Makoto looked back to the photos and put the Duel Ring photo at the bottom of the stack, revealing the one of the beam of light from the wall. "Okay..."

"So Honda climbed up there and could see a tower with a window. Someone could have been spying on Kaiba's hand from there. So we climbed the tower, which I took the next two pictures from the top of."

Makoto looked at them as I continued.

"We found a secret room up there, but no spying equipment. While we were up there, though, somehow, we got caught by Pegasus. He walked in, knowing we were already there. And... I don't know. He did something with his Millennium Eye."

Makoto's gaze returned to me, concerned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, it was like... I felt like I fell through the floor almost, and I woke up in a weird hall. Like something you'd expect to find in an Egyptian pyramid. Hieroglyphs on the walls and everything. But all of us were there. Me, Anzu, Bakura, and Honda. We could hear some weird chanting, and followed it to a room where there was what was basically an ancient version of Duel Monsters happening. I had read theories online about a month before that Pegasus had based Duel Monsters after an ancient Egyptian game, so it made sense. But... I don't know. The loser literally burst into flames. I couldn't even watch. It was awful. And the guy who won turned out to be Pegasus, and he explained that it was a Dark Game. I really don't understand anything about those. But then, he used his Millennium Eye again, and I woke up in my room. I thought for sure it was a dream, but I know I at least made it up to that tower." I nodded to the pictures that Makoto held.

He stared at them for a moment, and I could tell he was trying to think of an explanation. He must have come up with nothing. "Mara, I don't know how much of this really is what it seems, but it's obvious it's dangerous." He met my gaze. "You're really sure you want to keep on with it?"

I nodded. "This didn't even have anything to do with the Blue-Eyes. It's just because I tagged along with Yuugi to something I didn't understand anything about. But now I do. A little. And I'll be able to use that to not end up in a situation like that again. Hopefully."

Makoto didn't look convinced.

I sighed. "I know. This probably sounds pretty ridiculous. This dragon though... As long as I can remember. She's been a part of me. Abandoning her would be like abandoning myself..."

There was a short silence, and I thought I'd finally said too much, but Makoto eventually responded, speaking slowly.

"You know... When you described the dragon to me at first, I noticed that it sounded like you."

I blinked, then looked up at him. His expression confused me, and I couldn't read it. He looked confused, concerned, but maybe there was a bit of understanding in his features. "Sounded like me?"

"A white dragon, tinged light blue, with blue eyes. Your hair is white, almost tinged with light blue in some lighting. And your eyes are blue, too."

My eyes widen. "I... never thought about that."

Makoto continued, though he averted his gaze to the pictures. "I don't know much about souls, or Millennium Items, or even stuff like reincarnation and all that. I guess I believe reincarnation is possible, but... I don't know. Maybe this dragon had something to do with you in another life. Seems like a pretty odd coincidence, otherwise."

"That's what my mom thinks..." I murmured, and he looked back up at me. "My mom thinks maybe I had something to do with this dragon in another life. I never realized the similarities in our appearances though."

"I don't know if it actually means anything, but that's just what came to my mind at first."

I nodded, but didn’t respond. Telling Makoto all about this may have actually been a good idea. Getting a new perspective on things was helping me work it out.

"Holy shit, you flew back?"

I blinked, my focus drawn back to Makoto. He was looking at the photos I'd taken from the helicopter. Giving a laugh, I nodded. "Yeah. Got a ride from Kaiba in his helicopter."

He turned his shocked gaze to me. "Wait, you flew back in a helicopter with Seto Kaiba?"

"More unbelievable than the supernatural shit?"

"Way more unbelievable. That's incredible."

"That last one I took from the top of the Kaiba Corp building."

"Okay, you know what, I'm too jealous to even talk to you right now."

"Hah, right! I guess I'll take those pictures back now, then."

"No, I'm not done looking at them! Okay, I can still talk to you. Still jealous, though."

After that, the conversation stayed light-hearted. I needed that. Hanging out with a friend in totally normal circumstances. No Millennium Items, no high stakes. Just talking, and laughing. Having normal friends was awesome.

We stayed at the coffee shop for another hour before I decided I needed to get home, and Makoto walked with me to the bus stop. When the bus was pulling up to the stop, though, he turned oddly serious again, a frown pulling at his lips.

"Remember Mara, if you need to talk to anyone, you have my phone number. If anything happens, and you need help, or someone to talk to, I'll listen. Even if it's crazier than people's souls being taken. I know that I might have been a little more skeptical than you might have wanted, but... I believe you. Please don't ever avoid talking to me because you think I won't believe you, okay?"

My eyebrows rose, and it took me a moment to respond. "Oh... Okay. Thank you, Makoto. That really means a lot. Really."

He nodded as the bus came to a stop beside us. "Well, see ya at school tomorrow?"

I smiled. "Yeah, see you."

I didn't really want to turn away, but I did, stepping up onto the bus. Even if Makoto had seemed a little unsure at first, he'd really come to believe me. It was a comforting thought. I had a friend I could go to, no matter what. I didn't know if I'd end up in anymore crazy, unbelievable situations, but if I did, I knew I wouldn't have to bottle it up.

Thank goodness, because after the next day, I'd have a whole new story for him.


End file.
